Michael Steele called on Sen. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) to “shut the you know what up” after she referred to a union leader and step mother as “not a mother” earlier this week.
Greene has faced criticism for remarking that Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers union, was “not a biological mother” and later “not a mother” during a House select subcommittee on the coronavirus pandemic on Wednesday.
The former Republican National Committee chair and now MSNBC political analyst acknowledged that people come into parenting “in a whole lot of different ways” before bringing up how the comment impacted him as an adopted child.
“It just struck such a raw nerve for me… to think that Marjorie Taylor Greene could look at my mother and say she’s not a mother well you need to shut the you know what up and step back,” Steele said.
“Because motherhood is something that comes from the heart, it’s something you do, it’s an expression of love, discipline, all the things I said…”
The Georgia Republican has knocked non-biological parents in the past, referring to them as “fake mom and dad” in July 2022.
Greene’s recent comments were also criticized by Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) on Friday as he acknowledged that he was adopted by “two loving parents.” Weingarten, who is lesbian, described the attack as “vile” and “homophobic” when she appeared on MSNBC alongside Steele on Friday.
Steele, in a continuation of his criticism on Friday, remarked how his party has referred to family values for years and slammed Greene for being a “classless act” with “classless words.”
“I’ve debated Randi, we’ve had our scrummishes, I’ve scrummished with teachers unions here in Maryland but I would never look at her and say ’Well, you’re unfit to have this discussion because you don’t know what it is because you’re not a mother,” Steele said.
“What the hell.”
Steele, later in the program, sent a direct message to Greene over her comments.
“You remember that little boy named Jesus? Well his daddy was a stepdad,” he said.
(H/T Mediaite)
