Last night, 60 Minutes, one of the nation’s premier media platforms, aired an extended interview with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), one of the biggest conspiracy theorists in Congress.
The results were as one could have expected.
In advance of the interview, people criticized 60 Minutes, noting that giving airtime to a representative who once espoused tenets of the QAnon conspiracy theory could backfire and that she would use the platform to spread misinformation.
Online commenters also took issue with the way 60 Minutes teased the episode.
The show said Greene “isn’t afraid to share her opinions, no matter how intense and in-your-face they are.”
“Reminds me of a guy we defeated in the 1940’s who wasn’t afraid to share his opinions, no matter how intense and in-your-face they were,” wrote one, referring to Hitler. “Too bad you couldn’t interview him, @LesleyRStahl, you could have asked him about his vegetarianism and his love of dogs.”
“Who will Leslie Stahl interview next, Richard Spencer?” asked one Twitter user, referencing the infamous white nationalist.
In the interview, Greene pushed some of her favorite talking points to one of the biggest nationally televised audience she’s ever received, calling Democrats “pedophiles” and saying President Joe Biden supports children being “sexualized.”
“[Democrats] support grooming children … even the president himself, Joe Biden, supports children being sexualized,” she said, comparing support for trans rights to pedophilia.
In the interview, Greene denied that she personally liked tweets calling for violence against Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), instead blaming it on her staff.
She also denied that she called the Parkland school shooting a false flag. 60 Minutes then showed a screenshot of Greene’s since-deleted 2018 Facebook comment calling the school shooting a false flag.
Greene was also once filmed saying Parkland survivor David Hogg was receiving “funding” from George Soros.
The backlash to 60 Minutes came swiftly.
“Disgraceful from 60 Minutes … doesn’t push back at all when she says absolutely deplorable shit,” wrote one user.
“60 Minutes, Leslie Stahl should give their viewers an apology for allowing MTG the opportunity to disparage the U.S. government [democracy], without showing proof that these are outright bald faced lies,” wrote another.
Greene, for her part, didn’t seem to have an issue with the interview, as she shared it from her official Twitter account.
