Rep. Peter Meijer (R-MI) on Sunday took aim at Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) in response to her incendiary remarks comparing the House’s mask policy to the Holocaust.
During an interview on Real America’s Voice on Friday, Greene complained about the House’s mandatory mask mandate on the floor and equated the policy to the mistreatment of Jews during the Holocaust.
“You know, we can look back at a time in history when people were told to wear a gold star, and they were definitely treated like second-class citizens, so much so that they were put in trains and taken to gas chambers in Nazi Germany,” Greene said. “And this is exactly the type of abuse that (House Speaker) Nancy Pelosi is talking about.”
Greene, who has come under fire for her remarks, also accused Pelosi of being “mentally ill” for keeping the House’s mask requirement in place during the interview.
Appearing on CNN on Sunday, Meijer added to the growing outcry against Greene’s comments, calling his colleague’s remarks “beyond reprehensible.”
“Any comparisons to the Holocaust, it’s beyond reprehensible. This is, I don’t even have words to describe how disappointing it is to see this hyperbolic speech that frankly amps up and plays into a lot of the antisemitism that we’ve been seeing in our society today,” Meijer said, pointing to recent anti-Semitic attacks in New York and Los Angeles amid the latest Israel-Palestinian conflict.
“I do condemn that in the strongest terms, there’s no excuse for that,” Meijer said, before arguing that “the most far-fetched, the most attention-seeking message” is “taking up the oxygen” on policy discussions that should be prioritized.
“That’s not where our conversation is — it gets distracted by personalities,” Meijer said. “It gets distracted by everything that is ultimately of very little substance, but has influence on the body politics.”
Meijer’s remarks come a day after Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) — who was ousted as the No. 3 Republican after Greene and other House Republicans pushed for her ouster for refusing to bend to the will of former President Trump — tweeted that Greene’s remarks are “evil lunacy.”
Greene issued her incendiary remarks amid some House Republicans refusing to adhere to mask the chamber’s mask policy. Democrats have argued that the mask requirement should stay due to a number of House Republicans refusing to get vaccinated against COVID-19.
Watch Meijer’s remarks below:
GOP Rep. Peter Meijer says Marjorie Taylor Greene's comments comparing House mask mandates to the holocaust are "beyond reprehensible."
"I don't even have words to describe how disappointing it is to see this hyperbolic speech…" #CNNSOTU https://t.co/ju8nL9oEse pic.twitter.com/Pm8aMM4Ska
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) May 23, 2021
