MTG Melts Down After Blunt Question on J.D. Vance

While sucking up to Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention on Tuesday, Marjorie Taylor Greene was stunned when a reporter asked a follow-up question about his running mate, J.D. Vance.

Jo Crawford, from The Times of London, asked the Republican representative from Georgia about J.D. Vance’s comments last week that the United Kingdom might be the first “Islamist country” thanks to the newly elected Labour government

“Doesn’t that paint a sour picture for relations with the U.K.?” Crawford asked Greene, who immediately entered meltdown mode.

“Well, let’s talk about the words of the Democrats and Joe Biden that have also labeled President Trump as a fascist, labeled all of us as Nazis and Hitler.” She then went on to blame the attempted assassination of Trump on Democrats, a line she’s been trying to peddle, despite the fact that the shooter was a registered Republican.

When the reporter tries to get Greene back on topic, Greene got angry, interrupting the journalist and turning to personal attacks. “Let’s talk about people like you,” Greene said, pointing her finger at Crawford.

“I have some of the most highest amount of death threats because of people like you,” Greene said. “You choose to take only certain words from people, and then that’s what you report. Shame on you.”

“You’re ridiculous. And you’re the problem in our country,” she began to yell. “You’re the cause of our country being divided. You’re the cause of Trump almost being assassinated.”

Greene’s anti-media attack is in line with a growing disdain on the right, which blames the media for political violence. “This is your fault!” an attendee of Trump’s Pennsylvania rally yelled out shortly after the shooting on Saturday, pointing at individual journalists on the press fence.

In March, Greene also told former BBC journalist Emily Maitlis to “fuck off” when asked about her “Jewish space lasers” conspiracy.

House Speaker Mike Johnson’s day two delivery at the Republican National Convention was a drastic departure from the “unity convention” gimmick that the party had promised.

While referring to the “battle” and “struggle” for control of American life and slamming Democrats as the “party of self-destruction,” the Louisiana politician took a moment to nod to one of his favorite, and most dangerous, conspiracies: the “great replacement theory.”

“We cannot allow the many millions of illegal aliens they’ve allowed to cross our borders, to harm our citizens, raid our resources, or disrupt our elections. We will not allow it,” Johnson said. “My friends, we’re watching the principles of faith, family, and freedom that once defined our great nation now being trampled underfoot by the radical left.”

The great replacement theory is a white-nationalist, far-right conspiracy that purports that white, historically European populations are being “replaced” by people of color through mass migration with the sign-off of the elite ruling class. The conspiracy also completely ignores the fact that the United States was a nation founded and built by displaced immigrants—including white, European ones, who were fleeing government and religious persecution in regions such as Holland, Germany, and Britain. Not to mention that those immigrants displaced (or replaced, if you will) the Indigenous people already living here.

Outcry against the current wave of migrants, many of whom are crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in order to find better living conditions and work, just as previous waves of immigrants have, flagrantly ignores the nation’s prior principles on the matter—despite the fact that they’re codified on some of our national monuments.

Calling back to the moment that Donald Trump stood up with a pumped fist and a bloodied ear on Friday, Johnson told the crowd that “now is our time to fight.”

“And we will,” he added, to a cheering crowd.

Former Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley appeared at the Republican National Convention as part of Donald Trump’s new, feigned bid for unity, and was predictably booed by his base.

As Haley was introduced to the stage Tuesday night, loud boos could be heard among the crowd. Some booing reportedly continued throughout the speech. So much for unity, then.

Haley said that Trump had asked her to speak “in the name of unity,” and she offered her “strong endorsement” of the Republican nominee.

“You don’t have to agree with Trump 100 percent of the time to vote for him. Take it from me,” said Haley, referencing her totally abandoned criticisms of the former president.

“I haven’t always agreed with President Trump. But we agree more often than we disagree. We agree on keeping America strong. We agree on keeping America safe. And we agree that Democrats have moved so far to the left that they’re putting our freedoms in danger.”

Former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, who ran his own long-shot anti-Trump presidential campaign, had harsh words for Haley after her speech Tuesday.

“We have enormously challenging times in our country right now, and what we need are leaders who have the courage of their convictions. What we saw in her speech tonight was neither courage nor convictions, it was really tortured ambition,” Christie said during an interview on ABC News.

“She was on that stage because she is tortured by her own ambition. She had to go up there if she wants to run again in 2028—in her own mind. And that was more important than her standing up for the things she represented to the voters in the Republican primaries about Donald Trump being unfit, unhinged, just unqualified to be president of the United States.”

Christie said Haley’s “flip-flop” plea for unity would be unconvincing to her centrist voters. “I don’t think any Haley voter is gonna care,” he said.

Vivek Ramaswamy’s speech at the Republican National Convention Tuesday night included a strange invitation to young people, which quickly got dumped on by Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

“Our message to Gen Z is this: You’re going to be the generation that actually saves this country,” Ramaswamy said at the RNC. “You want to be a rebel? You want to be a hippie? You want to ‘stick it to the man’? Show up on your college campus and try calling yourself a conservative. Say you want to get married, have kids, teach them to believe in God and pledge allegiance to their country.”

Ocasio-Cortez called out the former presidential candidate on X, saying, “If you want to be cool so badly, try giving a damn about other people beyond yourself. Might open a few doors.”

“Young people don’t take well to bigoted leaders who attack LGBTQ+ rights, outlaw abortion, cozy up to gun manufacturers + oil execs, and support a rapist for President,” Ocasio-Cortez posted.

The New York congresswoman has a point, as Ramaswamy doesn’t have much credibility when it comes to what’s “cool,” unless you count his insane temperature demands while on the campaign trail. He tried to be a libertarian rapper in college known as “Da Vek,” with his out-of-breath bars drawing few, if any fans. On the campaign trail, he tried to use rap to pander to voters, covering Eminem’s “Lose Yourself,” his college favorite. But this led to a cease-and-desist from Slim Shady himself, who is completely against Donald Trump and embraces left-wing causes like Black Lives Matter.

If Ramaswamy thinks contrarianism is cool, maybe it’s because he has implied in the past that the 9/11 attacks were an inside job. That’s something he didn’t mention at the RNC, along with his ideas to take away birthright citizenship and severely restrict young people’s right to vote. Young people probably won’t like the fact that he was once very critical of Donald Trump before becoming one of the convicted felon’s biggest fans.

If Ramaswamy wants the Republican Party to attract young people, he might consider keeping his mouth shut. Because if there’s one thing that repels them, it’s an older, out of touch guy telling them how to be cool.

After Senator Bob Menendez was convicted Tuesday on all 16 counts in his federal corruption trial, many of his Democratic colleagues swiftly called for his resignation.

“In light of this guilty verdict, Senator Menendez must now do what is right for his constituents, the Senate, and our country, and resign,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said shortly after the news broke.

Many others now urging the New Jersey congressman to step down had also done so after the charges first came to light. For example, Representative Andy Kim, the Democratic challenger for Menendez’s Senate seat this election, echoed previous calls for his opponent’s resignation, tweeting: “Our public servants should work for the people, and today we saw the people judge Senator Menendez as guilty and unfit to serve. I called on Senator Menendez to step down when these charges were first made public, and now that he has been found guilty, I believe the only course of action for him is to resign his seat immediately.”

Senators Cory Booker, Dick Durbin, and Amy Klobuchar, and Representative Katie Porter all similarly reiterated their previous calls for Menendez’s resignation. “You’ve got to know when to hold ’em, and know when to fold ’em,” Senator Tom Carper said, advising Menendez to do the latter.

Some have gone further, advocating for Menendez’s expulsion from the Senate should he fail to resign. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy issued a statement saying, “If [Menendez] refuses to vacate his office, I call on the United States Senate to vote to expel him. In the event of a vacancy, I will exercise my duty to make a temporary appointment to ensure the people of New Jersey have the representation they deserve.”

A statement by New Jersey Representative Mikie Sherrill similarly said, “If he refuses to resign from the Senate, he should be expelled. New Jersey deserves leadership that puts the people and our country first—not profit or self interest.”

Vowing to appeal the verdict, Menendez has not answered questions about whether he will heed these calls and resign.