Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, pictured here in March, has responded to backlash she received over comments made following the Northeast earthquake on April 5, 2024. Credit – Chip Somodevilla—Getty Images
U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Republican from Georgia, doubled down on comments about Friday’s earthquake in the Northeast and the upcoming solar eclipse expected across North America as signs from God in response to online criticism.
On Friday, in the wake of a 4.8 magnitude earthquake with an epicenter in New Jersey that rattled the Northeast, Greene posted on X, formerly Twitter, that she viewed the natural phenomena as divine symbolism.
“God is sending America strong signs to tell us to repent. Earthquakes and eclipses and many more things to come. I pray that our country listens,” Greene wrote.
Readers added context in response to Greene’s comment, culminating in a community note appearing under the original post. They pointed out that astronomers have known for years that April 8’s solar eclipse will take place. Additionally, the National Earthquake Information Center reports around 55 earthquakes happen a day around the globe, caused by movement between the earth’s tectonic plates on active or inactive faults.
Greene responded to the online backlash on Sunday, posting on X: “Many have mocked and scoffed at this post and even put community notes.” She quoted a passage from the Bible where Jesus said to a crowd: “You know how to interpret the appearance of the Earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?”
“Yes, eclipses are predictable and earthquakes happen and we know when comets are passing by, however God created all of these things and uses them to be signs for those of us who believe,” Greene wrote.
Many have mocked and scoffed at this post and even put community notes.
Jesus talked about that in Luke 12:54-56.
Yes eclipses are predictable and earthquakes happen and we know when comets are passing by, however God created all of these things and uses them to be signs for… https://t.co/BPs70oNXx3
— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) April 7, 2024
The far-right Republican often makes headlines for her comments. In March, the Donald Trump supporter swore at a British journalist at the end of an on-camera interview when asked about a conspiracy theory she had espoused. Greene also interrupted President Joe Biden during his State of the Union speech, leading him to deliver impromptu remarks in response about Georgia nursing student Laken Riley, whose murder has become a flashpoint in immigration debates this election year.
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