Rep. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) defended his role in counter-demonstrations outside former President Donald Trump’s Manhattan arraignment earlier this month that clashed with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-GA) rally protesting the indictment.
Greene, an ardent Trump supporter, made headlines when she announced her plans to protest outside the Manhattan courthouse where the former president was being arraigned on hush money charges. The news prompted GOP detractors, including progressive New Yorkers like Bowman and other progressive local lawmakers, to hold a counter-protest in the same area. Greene was only able to speak to the crowd for under 10 minutes before being escorted away by police over security concerns.
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Bowman was seen shouting, “Get out of here, get the hell out of here,” at Greene’s car as she was driven away from the chaotic scene before turning to reporters and saying, “Now, let’s talk about the truth.”
“We will never accept hateful rhetoric in our city,” Bowman told the packed crowd of police, media, and demonstrators. “Any rhetoric that is divisive, any rhetoric that uplifts white supremacy, we are pushing back against that in all its forms.”
“Marjorie Taylor Greene, she should take her a** back to Washington and do something about gun violence, do something about affordable health care, do something about childhood poverty, do something about climate change,” he continued. “Do your freaking job, Marjorie Taylor Greene. You don’t need to be in New York City talking that nonsense. Go back to your district. What are you doing here? You’re here for politics, you’re here because you want to be VP, you’re here for your own fundraising, you’re here for your own nonsense.”
“For her it’s about theater. It’s about going viral. It’s about fundraising and I’ve heard she wants to be the VP nominee.” @RepBowman to @jrpsaki about telling Marjorie Taylor Greene to “go home” at Trump’s arraignment. pic.twitter.com/NoIJQkfeJG
— Inside with Jen Psaki (@InsideWithPsaki) April 16, 2023
Asked about the incident during a Saturday appearance on MSNBC, specifically what was going through his head when he told her to go back home, Bowman replied, “First of all, I was angry that she would even come, because she’s coming for political theater and to help with her fundraising.”
“It was the day of the Trump arraignment so for her it’s about theater,” he added. “It’s about going viral. It’s about fundraising, and I’ve heard she wants to be the VP nominee.”
Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg indicted Trump this month on charges related to the hush money matter, marking the first time a former U.S. president has been criminally charged.
Michael Cohen, Trump’s former lawyer, testified before Congress in 2019 that he paid Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, $130,000 during the 2016 campaign to prevent her from going public about an affair she claimed to have with Trump in 2005. Cohen, who pleaded guilty and served time over the alleged payment, told lawmakers Trump reimbursed him in monthly installments.
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Trump has denied any wrongdoing and vowed to fight the charges. He has also made targets of Bragg and the judge overseeing the case on social media while condemning the charges as unserious and politically motivated.
Greene has repeatedly decried the investigation and charges as an “unconstitutional witch hunt.”
