Rep. Greene Apologizes After Comparing Mask Mandate to Treatment of Jews in Nazi Germany

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) speaks at a news conference after visiting the Holocaust Museum, outside the U.S. Capitol in Washington on June 14, 2021. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) on Monday apologized for making a comparison between how members of the House of Representatives are being treated and the treatment of Jews in Nazi Germany.

“The Holocaust is, there’s nothing comparable to it. It happened and over 6 million Jewish people were murdered,” Greene said during a press conference in Washington.

“There is no comparison to the Holocaust. And there are words that I have said, remarks that I’ve made, that I know are offensive and for that I want to apologize,” she added.

During an appearance on a Real America’s Voice program last month, Greene condemned House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) for making members wear masks and for suggesting that vaccinated members be separated from unvaccinated ones.

“You know, we can look back at a time in history where people were told to wear a gold star, and they were definitely treated like second class citizens, so much so that they were put in trains and taken to gas chambers in Nazi Germany,” Greene said at the time. “And this is exactly the type of abuse that Nancy Pelosi is talking about.”

The remarks drew condemnation from a number of groups and people, including the American Jewish Congress.

“You can never compare health-related restrictions with yellow stars, gas chambers, and other Nazi atrocities. Such comparisons demean the Holocaust and contaminate American political speech,” the group said in a tweet last month. “Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene must immediately retract and apologize.”

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) walks outside the U.S. Capitol following a private visit to the Holocaust Museum in Washington on June 14, 2021. Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters

Greene later said that she was not making a comparison to the Holocaust, but to “discrimination against Jews in early Nazi years.” She also posted a tweet that said vaccinated workers at a grocery store chain being allowed to stop wearing masks was similar to when the Nazis forced Jewish people to wear a gold star.

But after a visit to the Holocaust Museum in Washington, which she said reminded her of how terrible the policies were in Nazi Germany, Greene offered an apology.

“I believe that if we’re going to lead, we need to be able to lead in a way where if we’ve messed up, it’s very important for us to say we’re sorry. And that’s why I wanted to come and talk to you all today. Because I wanted to say that I know that words that I’ve stated were hurtful. And for that I am very sorry,” she said.

“I’m truly sorry for offending people with remarks about the Holocaust. There’s no comparison. There never ever will be.”

Greene was previously stripped of her committee positions for remarks she made before being sworn into office.

Rep. Brad Schneider (D-Ill.) plans to introduce a resolution this week that would censure Greene over her comments if it passes, while Republicans introduced a censure resolution against Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) for her equating the United States and Israel with the terrorist group Hamas.

Omar issued what she termed a clarification last week, which satisfied most of the Democrats who had criticized her remarks. Democrats hold an eight-vote majority in the lower chamber.