GOP politician who called George Soros a Nazi wins Georgia primary, and Trump applauds

Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
A Republican House candidate in Georgia who accused George Soros of being a Nazi won her primary runoff Tuesday night, making her likely to represent her deep-red district next year.
The candidate is Marjorie Taylor Greene, who touts QAnon, a network of websites and chatrooms populated by believers in conspiracy theories such as the notion that Democrats and Hollywood actors are running an international child sex-trafficking ring. She beat John Cowan, a neurosurgeon, by a lead of about 15 percentage points to likely represent Georgia’s 14th Congressional District, one of the reddest in the country.
Earlier this year, POLITICO uncovered Facebook videos in which Greene said Muslims shouldn’t serve in the government, said Black people are “slaves to the Democratic Party” and said George Soros “turned in his own people over to the Nazis.”
On a February 2019 Twitter post that showed Soros as a vampire who controls “every single Democrat politician,” Greene replied calling Soros “the Nazi himself trying to continue what was not finished.”
The Republican Jewish Coalition denounced her behavior, as did House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, though he did not weigh in on the primary runoff or endorse Green’s opponent.
Greene has also been photographed with neo-Nazi Chester Doles, who called her a “friend.”
Experts say the QAnon movement deals in anti-Semitic conspiracy theories and tropes like secret control of the government and the influence of Soros and the Rothschild family.
President Trump congratulated Greene on Wednesday in a tweet that called her a “future Republican Star,” “strong on everything” and “a real WINNER.”
Molly Boigon is an investigative reporter at the Forward. Contact her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @MollyBoigon.
Did you know that only 2% of Forward readers donate to support our nonprofit newsroom? That 2% make it possible for millions to read the Forward without a paywall or subscription — removing any barriers to the full and fair Jewish story.
But while the Forward is free to read, it isn’t free to produce. Big stories — like deep dives into the antisemitism data, political scoops or reporting trips to college campuses — take months of research and fact-checking. All while we keep you informed of what you need to know each day.
— Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Forward Publisher & CEO
