editor’s Note: Dean Obeidallah, a former attorney, is the host of SiriusXM Radio’s daily program “The Dean Obeidallah Show”. chase him @DeanObeidallah@masto.aiThe views expressed in this comment are his own, Look more opinions On CNN.
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Last year, GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia spoke at a white nationalist event hosted by Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes, leading to condemnation from Republican leaders.
Last week, Greene’s Twitter account was temporarily suspended by the Elon Musk-led platform over a tweet containing a “Trans Day of Vengeance” graphic after she condemned a planned transgender rights rally.
And come Tuesday, Green Plans have been announced To protest in New York City when former President Donald Trump is expected to be tried on an indictment on more than 30 counts, the proceedings against him have been called “Unconstitutional witch hunt!,
But on Sunday, Greene was featured on CBS’s “60 Minutes” in an interview that had long been publicized on Twitter. with teasing: “Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, nicknamed MTG, isn’t afraid to share her opinions, no matter how intense and in-your-face they are. She’ll be sitting down with Leslie Stahl on 60 Minutes this Sunday.” In photos attached to this tweet from “60 Minutes,” Greene and Stahl are seen walking around the U.S. Capitol, taking a walk outside, and Greene showing Stahl something on her phone.
In the segment airing Sunday night, Stahl said the congresswoman has risen from the margins to the GOP frontline in two years despite her “sharp tongue” and “some very radical views” as well as “over the top” comments such as “Democrats are the party of pedophiles.” Stahl also cited video of Greene stalking a school shooting survivor in Parkland, Florida, who is still insisting the 2020 election was stolen and failing to criticize Trump over the spending. (The interview was conducted before news of his indictment.)
But Stahl did not mention Greene’s speech at a white nationalist event while a member of Congress a year earlier or her extreme anti-Muslim views and defense of the January 6 rioters.
Criticism of CBS for promoting Green before the program even aired has been swift and justified. Former GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois already tweeted: “Wow. That’s crazy that would happen in 60 minutes.” (Kinzinger is CNN’s senior political commentator.)
Journalist Molly Jong-Fast also criticized “60 Minutes” with the tweet: “Attention is currency and 60 Minutes is spending its currency on the Jewish Space Laser Woman.” (Jong-Fast was apparently referring to Greene’s previous claim that the California wildfires were started by a “laser” fired from space controlled by a prominent Jewish banking family.)
David Hogg, who survived the horrific 2018 school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland and has since become an activist against gun violence, express reaction“I look forward to your questions about why she thinks school shootings are fake and why she supports QAnon.”
Greene had advanced the conspiracy theory two years before she was elected to Congress – that the Parkland shooting, which took the lives of 17 people, was staged. And in 2019, Greene appeared on video confronting Hogg outside the Capitol while he was supporting laws to protect lives from gun violence, yelling that the then-teenager was a “coward.” He also called Hogg “#LittleHitler” on social media.
Green’s own tweet The promotion of the Sunday segment was not filled with his usual stigmatization of “fake news” when he did not like the coverage. Instead, Green urged people to praise “60 Minutes” host Stahl (and misspell her first name): “It was an honor to spend a few days with legendary icon Leslie Stahl and the talented crew @60Minutes.” Green said, “Leslie is a trailblazer for women in journalism. And while we may disagree on some issues, I respect her greatly.”
Now, it’s true that “60 Minutes” has featured what the show has labeled “controversial” guests throughout its 50-plus year history. These include a 2000 interview with Timothy McVeigh, the Oklahoma City bomber whose 1995 terrorist attack killed 168 people, including 19 children. And in this show, Iran’s Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini was interviewed in 1979.
Perhaps the views of “60 Minutes” are in line with Greene — who has repeatedly downplayed and even defended the January 6, 2021 attack, as well as called for the GOP to become the party of “Christian nationalism” — along with a long list of controversial guests. (CBS did not respond to CNN’s request for comment at the time of publication.)
However, the choice of Greene as guest is immediately reminiscent of then-CBS CEO Les Moonves’ comments during Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign when he acknowledged that Trump’s candidacy “may not be good for America, but it’s great for CBS.” Moonves continued, “The money is coming in and it’s fun. … (T)his is going to be a great year for us,” concluding, “Sorry. That’s a terrible thing to say. But keep it up, Donald. Keep going.”
Moonves may be gone from CBS, but it appears his mentality continues on “60 Minutes.” And that may be good for “60 Minutes,” but it’s certainly not good for America.
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