Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., suggested that Democrats who move to Republican-controlled states should be banned from voting in elections for up to five years.
The far-right firebrand on Tuesday floated the idea after right-wing host Charlie Kirk asked how the GOP could stop liberals from "trying to invade our states or our counties."
"What I think would be something that some red states could propose is: well, okay, if Democrat voters choose to flee these blue states where they cannot tolerate the living conditions, they don't want their children taught these horrible things, and they really change their mind on the types of policies that they support, well once they move to a red state, guess what, maybe you don't get to vote for five years," Greene said. "You can live there, and you can work there, but you don't get to bring your values that you basically created in the blue states you came from by voting for Democrat leaders and Democrat policies."
Marjorie Taylor Greene: "If Democrat voters choose to flee these Blue states...Well, once they move to a Red state, guess what? Maybe you don't get to vote for five years" pic.twitter.com/AcAPwmYXcu
— Jason Campbell (@JasonSCampbell) February 21, 2023
Greene on Monday repeated her call for a "national divorce" between liberal and conservative states.
"We need a national divorce," the right-wing lawmaker tweeted. "We need to separate by red states and blue states and shrink the federal government. Everyone I talk to says this. From the sick and disgusting woke culture issues shoved down our throats to the Democrat's traitorous America Last policies, we are done."
Her tweet sparked widespread backlash from both Democrats and Republicans.
Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, denounced her comments on Tuesday and said that Abraham Lincoln dealt with "that kind of insanity," during a brief press availability during his visit with lawmakers at the Utah Capitol in Salt Lake City, according to Deseret News.
"We're not going to divide the country. It's united we stand, divided we fall," Romney added.
But Greene defended her stance on Kirk's show, arguing that a national divorce would not bring a civil war, but would instead offer states more power to govern themselves.
"It's actually separating by red states and blue states and making state rights and state power a lot stronger than it is right now," Greene said.
"It would be shrinking the federal government, for example, we can take education. Well, if we have a national divorce, there's no need for the Department of Education. Red states and Blue States would be in control of the education in each state," she added.
Under this system, Greene suggested that red states could bring back prayer in school and require every student to stand for the national anthem and pledge of allegiance while blue states could replace anthems and pledges with "identity ideologies like the Trans flag and BLM."
Greene also appeared on Fox News on Tuesday, where host Sean Hannity questioned her about her position.
"The last thing I ever want to see in America is a civil war. No one wants that — at least everyone I know would never want that — but it's going that direction, and we have to do something about it," Greene said.
She added that everyone she has spoken with is "sick" and "tired" of being bullied, abused and disrespected by the left.
Marjorie Taylor Greene rests her case on America wanting a national divorce on how many "likes and retweets" she got pic.twitter.com/K7KKjW1VWw
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) February 22, 2023
Hannity on the show endorsed Greene's proposal.
"The Congresswoman has another idea as well: banning people who move from blue states to red states from voting for five years so they don't bring their bad politics with them," Hannity said. "I actually favor that idea."
Hannity promoting Marjorie Taylor Greene‘s National Divorce Plan to his audience pic.twitter.com/Qa3cNHRBuY
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 22, 2023
But a growing number of Republicans have spoken out against Greene's call for a "national divorce."
"This rhetoric is destructive and wrong and — honestly — evil," Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, a Republican, tweeted in response to Greene. "We don't need a divorce, we need marriage counseling. And we need elected leaders that don't profit by tearing us apart."
The White House also echoed a similar response to the GOP lawmaker.
"Congresswoman Greene's comments are sick, divisive, and alarming to hear from a member of the House Oversight and Homeland Security Committees," White House spokesperson Robyn Patterson told The Daily Beast. "Congressional Republicans have an obligation to say clearly whether they agree with Congresswoman Greene's calls to dissolve the union or condemn her vile push to further divide our nation."
