Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) was challenged on Thursday to clarify why she posted a picture of the Statue of Liberty in a burqa following New York Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani’s obvious victory in New York Metropolis’s Democratic mayoral main.
The far-right lawmaker, who has a historical past of anti-Islam remarks, captioned the image: “This hits laborious.”
The submit was extensively condemned as Islamophobic and interpreted as a dig at Mamdani, who will develop into New York Metropolis’s first Muslim mayor if elected in November. Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) blasted the submit as “very racist” and “so outdoors the mainstream.”
Mamdani has been the topic of a number of Islamophobic assaults from the precise since his win.
On The Hill’s “Rising” present, co-host Niall Stanage introduced up the picture of the Statue of Liberty (which, satirically, was initially conceived of as being a Muslim girl in conventional Islamic gown) with Greene and requested: “What did you imply by that?”
Greene responded: “Properly, I’m an American girl and I’ve all of the freedoms on the planet to by no means must bow to a faith that may power me to cowl my physique up and solely see my eyes and my fingertips and that may be a main risk for all American girls, and I feel that’s one thing that hits laborious for all girls.”
When Stanage requested whether or not the submit was a selected response to Mamdani’s win, Greene appeared to not hear the query and stated: “Oh, a Muslim takeover or presumably Shariah regulation. That could be a nice risk to each single American girl, and I feel that’s one thing all girls ought to by no means need or permit to occur in America.”
Stanage pushed again, noting, “It’s as much as the voters of New York Metropolis to elect whoever they want to elect, whether or not that individual is Muslim or Christian or Jewish or the rest. So what’s the proof…”
Greene interrupted: “Properly, in fact voters have the precise to elect that and I’ll preserve my proper to say that I feel Shariah regulation and girls being compelled to put on burqas is the best risk to our freedoms as American girls.”
When requested straight whether or not she opposes Muslims holding elected workplace, Greene prevented answering and stated as a substitute: “I’m 100% against Shariah regulation in America. 100% unapologetically against Shariah regulation in America.”