‘60 Minutes’ Was Right to Have on Marjorie Taylor Greene
As with other radicalized Republicans, letting them talk *is* the gotcha.
There was no follow-up. Marjorie Taylor Greene believes that Democrats are “pedophiles.” Including Joe Biden. She said it. Right there on 60 Minutes on Sunday night for the whole country to hear. And when she said it, the interviewer, Leslie Stahl, responded only with “Wow,” and “Okay.”
For that response—but really for sitting down with Marjorie Taylor Greene to begin with—Leslie Stahl and 60 Minutes are getting pounded by what seems like every commentator outside of the MAGA right.
Look, let’s establish reality. Marjorie Taylor Greene is a member of Congress. Moreover, she’s a very influential member. Kevin McCarthy owes his speakership to her probably more than any other House Republican. And he knows it: “I will never leave that woman,” he has said.
Yes, she’s a crazy, proudly ignorant, cruel, conspiracy-embracing, authoritarian-leaning pathological liar. But Marjorie Taylor Greene is one of the most powerful Republicans in the House—arguably the most powerful. What she wants is what Republicans will deliver this Congress. You may not like it; I don’t like it; but that doesn’t matter. She matters.
So of course the media must pay attention to her, conduct interviews with her, and yes, do profiles of her. So of course Leslie Stahl ought to interview her. Donald Trump is also a crazy, proudly ignorant, cruel, conspiracy-embracing, authoritarian-leaning pathological liar. And of course damn near any journalist on any network would sit down with Donald Trump. Or Vladimir Putin if he offered himself up to Western media. Or Kim Jong-un if he had things to say to CNN or CBS.
They are newsmakers. Period.
American democracy is in real trouble because one of our two major political parties has become radicalized—it has given up on democracy, embraces authoritarianism, and is completely untethered from truth. If saving democracy depends on defeating this radicalized Republican party, then we need to know who its leaders are and how they think. We need to hear them speak. And though it may be hard to believe, there are still plenty of Americans who don’t know who Marjorie Taylor Greene is, who don’t know how cruel and dishonest she is.
So the more we can put Greene out there, the better. The more people can see her revealing her extremist views and conspiratorial thoughts, the better.
I think there are more of us than them—more people in this country who oppose Trump and MTG than support them. But while the people who do support them are highly engaged and involved, too few people in the majority are. To get there, to become engaged and involved, they need to know what we’re up against, which is why it always makes sense to put Trump out there as much as we can—cover his rallies, cover his crazy Truth Social postings.
The same goes for Greene. The more she’s out there spewing her ugliness, the better our chances are of defeating her. Putting her on 60 Minutes isn’t “normalizing” her. It’s exposing her. Letting Marjorie Taylor Greene speak is all the “gotcha” you need.
All that said, when you are interviewing Greene and she says out loud that Joe Biden and the Democrats are pedophiles, there is a follow up. A pretty simple one. Simply put the definition of pedophile in front of her—“A pedophile is an adult who is sexually attracted to children. Do you really believe Democrats are pedophiles?” And when she says “Yes,” don’t say “Wow” or “Okay.” Tell her forcefully that’s not true; tell her that’s a despicable lie; tell her that she ought to be ashamed of herself.
And then be done and let her say whatever she wants. Let her speak. Let her keep revealing who she is.