Republican Adam Kinzinger Defends AOC, Suggests Marjorie Taylor Greene Can’t ‘Handle’ Her Emotions

Representative Adam Kinzinger, an Illinois Republican, appeared to defend Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, after she was aggressively confronted by Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican.

On Wednesday, Greene followed Ocasio-Cortez out of the House chamber in Congress and falsely accused her of sympathizing with terrorists, The Washington Post reported. Greene yelled at Ocasio-Cortez as the New York progressive proceeded to walk away, only once turning to throw up her hands in exasperation with the far-right GOP lawmaker.

“While I may not agree with @AOC on issues, I’ve never seen her confront a colleague like this. The house was created to debate emotional issues professionally, and it seems some just want attention or cannot handle their emotions,” Kinzinger, who is staunchly opposed to Greene as well as former President Donald Trump, tweeted on Thursday morning.

Greene quickly fired back, writing: “Since you are short on understanding little Adam, I asked @AOC to debate me. In the chamber, to debate her destructive socialist policies. But Sandy doesn’t know how to work with Republicans. Neither do you.”

In a statement following the incident, a spokesperson for Ocasio-Cortez told the Post: “Representative Greene tried to begin an argument with Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez and when Rep. Ocasio-Cortez tried to walk away, Congresswoman Greene began screaming and called Rep. Ocasio-Cortez a terrorist sympathizer.… We hope leadership and the Sergeant at Arms will take real steps to make Congress a safe, civil place for all Members and staff—especially as many offices are discussing reopening. One Member has already been forced to relocate her office due to Congresswoman Greene’s attacks.”

Kinzinger has repeatedly slammed Greene, saying she is not a “serious” lawmaker. Greene has repeatedly promoted groundless conspiracy theories and expressed a belief in QAnon before she entered Congress. Her previous social media activity has suggested she is supportive violence against other lawmakers as well. Greene was formally rebuked and stripped of her committee assignments in a House floor vote in February. Kinzinger and 10 other GOP lawmakers voted in favor of that decision, along with Democrats.

Although Greene has accomplished little besides stirring controversy after controversy since she entered Congress, she has aligned herself closely with Trump. The GOP lawmaker has positioned herself as a key defender of the former president, as she has promoted his false claims and lies about the 2020 presidential election.

GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois speaks to reporters on May 12 at the U.S. Capitol. On May 13, Kinzinger tweeted, “While I may not agree with @AOC on issues, I’ve never seen her confront a colleague like this. The house was created to debate emotional issues professionally, and it seems some just want attention or cannot handle their emotions.” MANDEL NGAN/AFP via Getty Images

In a tweet after the Wednesday confrontation, Greene baselessly accused Ocasio-Cortez of being “a hate-America terrorist sympathizer.” She also claimed that the New York representative was “scared” to debate her.

Newsweek reached out to press representatives for Greene and Ocasio-Cortez for comment. Greene’s press secretary sent a link to her Twitter response to Kinzinger and Ocasio-Cortez’s press secretary did not immediately respond.