Marjorie Taylor Greene: Ilhan Omar is ‘lucky’ to be in America
WASHINGTON — Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) is offended that Somali-born Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) — in a Raw Story exclusive — dared question the patriotism of embattled Supreme Court Justice Samual Alito and his wife.
“Let's be real, Ilhan Omar, she wasn't born in this country, she's lucky to be here, so she should be defending religious freedom,” Greene told Raw Story this week while walking from the Capitol back to her office across the street.
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Raw Story caught up with Greene right after publishing an exclusive in which Omar, who survived Greene’s attempt to censure her earlier this year, panned Alito and his wife for displaying an upside-down American flag outside their home in a wealthy Washington suburb in the days following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The upside down flag had become a symbol used by Trump supporters who refused to believe Trump lost the 2020 election.
“It sounds insane. It sounds un-American,” Omar told Raw Story at the Capitol this week.
Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) participates in a panel discussion during the Muslim Collective For Equitable Democracy Conference and Presidential Forum at the The National Housing Center on July 23, 2019 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Thing is, it’s not insane — at least not in today’s Trump-branded GOP. The traditional maritime distress signal — an upside-down flag — is now accepted as a way of MAGA-ites airing their anger, while also owning the libs.
In fact, Greene stands in solidarity with the Alitos: She, too, has proudly unfurled an upside-down version of the stars and stripes. Her defiant unfurling wasn’t a part of an Alito-esque neighborhood dispute — she let her flag wave for Trump, her forever president.
In 2022, after the FBI stormed Trump’s Florida country club to reclaim more than a spare bathroom’s worth of classified documents owned by the federal government and not the former commander-in-chief, Greene felt compelled to go a step further than even she had ever gone before.
“I posted an upside down flag, literally, the day of the Mar-a-Lago raid,” Greene proudly recounted to Raw Story. “The day of the Mar-a-Lago raid.”
“What’s the upside down flag mean to you?” Raw Story inquired.
“It means, I mean, we're a country in severe distress, and it's obvious,” Greene said.
How so?
Greene proceeded to list her grievances to Raw Story:
- America’s on the verge of a recession, she said — a popular conservative talking point with which the Federal Reserve disagrees.
- The national debt is a ballooning national debt (a problem she recognizes as bipartisan — or unipartisan, really).
- Border security is broken — something Democrats now blame on Republicans such as Greene after the GOP walked away from a bipartisan Senate immigration package at Trump’s behest).
- The justice system is weaponized — a claim many legal scholars dismiss.
“That is certainly a nation in distress. As a matter of fact, we're basically, the American people are being attacked by their own government. So an upside down flag? Yes. Definitely warranted,” Greene said. “Should probably be flown every single day.”
“Over the Capitol?” Raw Story asked.
“The Capitol’s the one attacking everybody, honestly,” Greene said. “I think people should fly it at their own home.”
But this week’s revelations that the Alitos also displayed at their New Jersey beach house a contentious “Appeal to Heaven” flag embraced by some conservative Christians — one critics say is emblematic of a dangerous march toward Christian nationalism by leaders of today’s right — is what really has Greene’s red blood boiling.
“Then they're attacking Justice Alito, I guess his wife, for flying a Christian flag,” Greene said.
Omar did not address this particular flag, reserving her “un-American” remarks about the Alitos to the upside down flag. Raw Story had spoken with Omar before the New York Times reported on the Alitos’ “Appeal to Heaven” flag display.
That didn’t stop Greene from lumping in Omar, a Muslim, with even evangelical Democrats who are aghast at the political display of a religious symbol.
“That's appalling. Absolutely appalling. You know, we have religious freedom in this country, but when a Supreme Court justice's wife is being attacked for her Christian faith and displaying it proudly, that's a member of Congress or a leader that doesn't deserve their power,” Greene said.
“Well, it seems like this second flag has been co-opted by the far-right?” Raw Story pressed.
“Total bulls—,” Greene said. “Total bulls—.”