Late night hosts aren't buying Marjorie Taylor Greene's public disavowal of QAnon and other 'deranged beliefs'

The Late Show makes a Greene bumper sticker

(Image credit: Screenshot/YouTube/The Late Show)

published 5 February 2021

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) "is known for her history of deranged beliefs, ranging from racist conspiracy theories about Jewish space lasers to supporting calls to execute Democratic politicians," Trevor Noah said on Thursday's Daily Show. "Democrats can't stop her from serving in Congress, and they definitely can't stop her from saying crazy s--t, but today they decided to give her just a little less input on running the country."

Yes, "Greene has been kicked off her committees," which is actually "a pretty sweet deal," Noah pointed out. "Basically, her punishment for acting insane was to do less work for the same amount of money." But "clearly, Marjorie Taylor Greene has become a distraction and a liability for the Republican Party, which is maybe why she decided to step up on the floor of the House today and disavow many of her past insane beliefs," though "she doesn't take responsibility for believing them in the first place," he noted. "Yes, you see, it's all Facebook's fault for allowing her to believe in those things, so don't blame her, blame Mark Zuckerberg, with his social media lies and his space lasers."

"Before the House vote, Greene defended herself, and she came very close to denouncing QAnon," Stephen Colbert said at The Late Show. And at Wednesday's GOP "family meeting," during which "not only did her colleagues refuse to punish her, they actually gave Greene a standing ovation" — she "reportedly tried to step away from the wild conspiracy theories she's promoted in the past, though she sidestepped" her Jewish space laser post, "arguably the most heinous thing she's said," Colbert sighed. "That's like O.J. Simpson giving a heartfelt apology for ruining his gloves."

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Greene told the House her 2018 posts no longer represent her values, but "this woman was tweeting nutso conspiracy theories as recently as yesterday," Jimmy Kimmel said on Kimmel Live. "The woman who started impeachment proceedings against Joe Biden the day he took office is calling for unity now," he said. And claiming "the media is just as guilty as QAnon? That's like saying Jell-O is just as guilty as Bill Cosby." Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.