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Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) stunned the hosts of “The View” Tuesday during her highly anticipated debut on the long-running daytime talk show. During the hour-long program, Greene called out “weak Republican men,” blamed House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) for the government shutdown and criticized the Israeli government’s strikes in Gaza. The MAGA loyalist received applause from the audience and praise from the five-woman panel. “I’m sitting here just stumped, you know, because you are a very different person than I thought,” co-host Sunny Hostin told Greene. “You’ve gone so right, it’s like you’re on the left now.” Greene has broken with Republicans on a number of key issues during President Donald Trump’s second term, and she doubled down on those stances during Tuesday’s interview. Here are some excerpts from Greene’s appearance on “The View.” Pushing for the release of the Epstein files Greene in September was one of four GOP House members to sign a discharge petition to force a vote on unsealing federal files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The petition remains one signature shy of triggering a vote as Rep.-elect Adelita Grijalva (D-Ariz.) waits to be sworn in. Greene: “It seems like very rich and powerful men are being protected. I will sign anybody’s resolution, and I’ll get onboard with anyone’s push to release those files. Because this is about women, especially when they were teenagers, who were victims of rape and sexual abuse by Jeffrey Epstein. And according to the victims, there is a list of men that they haven’t released yet because they are afraid of lawsuits. I said I would read the list for them on the House floor because I have speech and debate protection there. “What does it say to them if our government will not release the information on the most famous convicted pedophile in history. What is that message? And I think it’s horrendous.” The ‘embarrassment’ of the shutdown Johnson has kept the House out of session since Sept. 19 and has said he won’t recall members until Senate Democrats vote to advance the stopgap spending bill to reopen the government. On Tuesday, the House-passed bill fell short of the 60 votes needed to advance in the Senate. Greene: “The worst thing that I just can’t get over is we’re not working right now. And I put that criticism directly on the Speaker of the House. It is an embarrassment to me that we’re not in session. “However, I voted to fund the federal government on September 18. I want all federal employees to be paid. I want all the programs to be funded. I think that is our job, all of us together, Republicans and Democrats in the House and the Senate. “And I’m with women, so I feel very comfortable saying this: I’m really tired of the pissing contest in Washington, D.C., between the men.” Questioning the GOP health care plan Greene has called out Johnson for not providing details on a Republican alternative to the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Senate Democrats have said they will block the House spending bill until the GOP agrees to negotiate on ACA tax credits due to expire at the end of this year. Greene: “I yelled at Mike Johnson last week on our GOP conference call. And by the way, I’m missing the call today. It’s going on right now. “And I hope that Mike Johnson has finally given a single health care policy. The country deserves it, and it shouldn’t be a secret. And I shouldn’t have to go into a SCIF (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility) to go find our Republican health insurance plan.” The right to criticize Israel Greene said Hamas’ terrorist attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, was “horrific” and “the worst thing.” However, she stood by her previous remarks describing the crisis in Gaza as a “genocide.” Greene: “I would say that tide has completely changed. I think many Americans today see the difference as, you can love Jewish Americans, you can love Jewish people and not be critical of people at all. I have the right to criticize a foreign government, and I can criticize as many of them as I want. And I can say October 7 was the worst thing and horrific, but I can equally say that starving children and killing innocent people and children in Gaza is also horrible.” No plans to switch allegiances Greene shot down “The View” co-host Joy Behar’s suggestion that she should “become a Democrat.”
