Greene, Gaetz Push Populist Trump Message At Georgia Rally

DALTON, GA — With Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz as wingman, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene celebrated her 47th birthday in style Thursday night at an “America First” rally in Dalton that may as well have been a rally for former President Donald Trump.

The controversial pair used the event in Greene's home district to burnish their images as Trump-style populist outsiders, wearing the criticism both have received as badges of honor.

“We are the most hated and most talked-about and most attacked members of Congress,” Greene said to Gaetz. “But I’m lucky because Matt and I, guess what, we don’t really care, do we?” The crowd applauded.

“If they’re not attacking us, we probably aren’t doing our jobs,” Gaetz responded, to more cheers.

Both representatives have been lightning rods for criticism. Greene, in office less than a year, has bounced from one dust-up to another, at one point being stripped of her committee assignments for videos she posted promoting QAnon conspiracy theories. Meanwhile, Gaetz has been dealing with fallout from a Justice Department investigation into whether he had violated sex trafficking laws.

Neither Greene nor Gaetz directly addressed their latest imbroglios. Instead, they went on offense, attacking those who attack Trump.

Name-checking establishment GOP figures such as Sen. Mitt Romney and the Bush family, Gaetz took aim at former House Speaker Paul Ryan, who at that moment was speaking to fellow Republicans in California. According to a report from The Associated Press, Ryan did not specifically name Trump but instead dismissed the “populist appeal of one personality” or “second-rate imitations.”

“Taking advice on party-building from Paul Ryan would be like taking advice on how to interact with your in-laws from Meghan Markle,” Gaetz told the crowd.

Greene was more direct, asking the crowd “Who won the presidential race?” and receiving the expected answer: Trump.

“You’re the customer,” Greene told the audience, framing their concerns as a business transaction. “If you want an audit, you get an audit.”

Greene and Gaetz hit other popular themes as well, including:

• Monuments: Greene declared that Stone Mountain should be protected.
• The COVID-19 pandemic: Greene bragged that she would continue to refuse to wear a face covering while on the floor of the House, referring to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as “Speaker Maskhole.” Earlier, Gaetz had compared health guidance from Dr. Anthony Fauci to answers from a magic 8-ball.
• Gun rights: Both said they supported constitutional carry, which would allow citizens to carry weapons with no background checks, only the support of the Constitution.

Gaetz: Second Amendment supports "armed rebellion against the government"

Gaetz took it a step further.

“The Second Amendment is not about hunting, it’s not about recreation, it’s not about sports,” Gaetz told the crowd. “The Second Amendment is about maintaining within the citizenry the ability to maintain an armed rebellion against the government if that becomes necessary.”

Gaetz avoided mentioning the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, which has led to hundreds of arrests and the deaths of five people. Instead, like many Republicans, he went on as if it hadn’t happened.

“I hope it never does, but it sure is important to recognize the founding principles of this nation and to make sure they are fully understood,” Gaetz concluded, to audience applause. Then he added, “Oh, they hate that. That’ll be the part that gets me kicked off of YouTube, right?”

State Rep. Jody Hice was the opening act, warming up the crowd before Greene and Gaetz spoke. Hice, who has announced his candidacy for Georgia secretary of state with Trump's blessings, used his time at the podium to make his case for dumping the current secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger.

“I do not believe that he’s led the office of secretary of state with integrity in any shape, form or fashion. He does not have the best interests of Georgia on his mind,” Hice said, pausing to smile when the audience responded with chants of “Lock him up.”

Hice went on to blame Raffensperger for Trump losing Georgia.

“How in the world does a secretary of state have a conversation with the president of the United States of America and leak that conversation to The Washington Post with a narrative that was not even part of the discussion?” Hice asked the crowd.

The Post and other media outlets reported that Trump phoned Raffensperger on Jan. 2, urging the secretary of state to “find him votes” even though there was no evidence of fraud. Many legal experts believe Trump’s phone call may have crossed the line into illegality, and it was later cited during his second impeachment trial. An audio recording of Trump's call to Raffensperger was released to the media on Jan. 3.

Hice also took Raffensperger to task for what he called “multiple irregularities and problems” with Fulton County’s management of the general election. In an interview Thursday with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Raffensperger again denied that there had been any widespread fraud in Fulton County, but he did say that “mismanagement” had been seen.

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