U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene referred to former President Donald Trump as “the founding father of the America First Movement” at the Republican National Convention on Monday.
Greene spoke at the convention Monday night, after Trump was officially named the Republican Party’s nominee for president earlier in the day.
“Today is a celebration. The American spirit is alive and well, and we have once again nominated the founder of the America First Movement, Donald John Trump, for president,” said Greene.
The phrase “America First” has a complicated history. Founded in 1940, the America First Committee opposed U.S. involvement in World War II. It had hundreds of thousands of members – some of whom were known as anti-Semites, according to The Atlantic. “America First” has become increasingly associated with anti-Semitic views.
Although Greene received cheers and applause from the crowd at the convention, people on social media expressed confusion and outrage over her comments. Many verified the claim that Trump was the “founding father” of the movement, and others noted the phrase’s ties to anti-Semitism.
“’The founder of the America First Movement’ is an absurd title for a man who is not one,” said one person posted on X.
Some pointed that the Ku Klux Klan also used the phrase “America first.”
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During her remarks, Greene also said she was praying for the family of Corey Compatore, the 50-year-old man who died Saturday after a gunman opened fire on Trump at a rally in Pennsylvania. Then she went on to criticize Democrats.
“We will honor Corey’s memory by building the country he wanted, the country he wanted for his children, and a government worthy of the American people,” she said. “For too long, the Washington establishment has sold us out. They promised unity and delivered division. They promised peace and brought war. They promised normality and gave us Transgender Day of Visibility on Easter Sunday.”
International Transgender Day of Visibility has been held every year on March 31 since 2009. This year, happened to fall on Easter Sunday.
Greene went on to say that “there are only two genders.”
People took to social media to react to Greene’s speech.
“Hearing Marjorie Taylor Greene talk about trans people and ‘just two genders’ is a reminder that the lack of understanding about the differences between sex and gender runs deep,” one person posted in X.
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This story originally appeared on Time.com read the full story
