'I made a mistake': Marjorie Taylor Greene apologizes for saying vaccination passports are same as yellow stars worn by Jews in Nazi Germany before they were taken to gas chambers
Marjorie Taylor Greene on Monday apologized for likening mask mandates to the Holocaust, admitting there was 'no comparison' and saying she was 'very sorry'.
The Georgia congresswoman, 47, paid a visit to the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC on Monday afternoon.
After her visit, she said she now regretted her May remarks, which draw widespread condemnation.
'I have made a mistake,' Greene told reporters on Monday.
'I wanted to say that I know that words that I've stated were hurtful, and for that I am very sorry.'
She added: 'The horrors of the Holocaust are something that some people don't even believe happened, and some people deny, but there is no comparison to the Holocaust.
Marjorie Taylor Greene on Monday (pictured) stood before the U.S. Capitol and apologized for her May 20 remarks, in which she likened mask mandates to the Holocaust
'There are words that I have said and remarks that I have made that I know are offensive and for that I want to apologize.'
Greene, Politico reported, wanted to show contrition for her behavior, according to a source familiar with her thinking.
'I always want to remind people - I'm very much a normal person,' she said addressing a press conference near the Capitol.
'I think it's important for me to be transparent and honest.
'I am blessed with amazing parents. My dad passed away in April. But I will say, he taught me some great things, and one of the best things is that if you make a mistake you should own it.
'I have made a mistake, and it has really bothered me for a couple of weeks now, and I really want to own it.
'This afternoon I visited the Holocaust Museum. There is nothing that compared to it.
'Over six million Jewish people were murdered. More than that - not just Jewish people - black people, Christians, children, people that the Nazis didn't believe were good enough or perfect enough.
'The horrors of the Holocaust is something that some people do not even believe happened. Some people deny it. But there is no comparison to the Holocaust.
'There are words that I have said that are offensive, and I want to apologize.
'I am just fine, and very glad to be able to do that. I believe that if we are going to lead, we need to do it in a way where, if we have messed up, it's very important to say: we're sorry.'
Greene told reporters on Monday that she had 'made a mistake' and was willing to 'own' it and apologize. She said: 'I always want to remind people - I'm very much a normal person'
Greene on Monday staged a press conference where she apologized for her 'offensive' comments
The Georgia congresswoman had visited the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington DC earlier on Monday, as part of her show of contrition
Until now she had been defiant - even doubling down on her initial comments.
On May 20, she told David Brody for his podcast The Water Cooler that Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House, was 'mentally ill' for maintaining COVID restrictions.
'You know, we can look back at a time in history where people were told to wear a gold star, and they were definitely treated like second class citizens, so much so that they were put in trains and taken to gas chambers in Nazi Germany,' Greene said.
'And this is exactly the type of abuse that Nancy Pelosi is talking about.'
Her remarks generated an immediate uproar, but Greene was unrepentant.
'I stand by all of my statements,' she later said.
'I said nothing wrong. Any rational Jewish person didn't like what happened in Nazi Germany, and any rational Jewish person doesn't like what's happening with overbearing mask mandates and overbearing vaccine policies.'
On May 25, she tweeted: 'Vaccinated employees get a vaccination logo just like the Nazi's forced Jewish people to wear a gold star.
'Vaccine passports & mask mandates create discrimination against unvaxxed people who trust their immune systems to a virus that is 99% survivable.'
Even her own party condemned her stance.
Kevin McCarthy, the House Minority Leader, called her latest comments 'wrong' and 'appalling' and said the rest of the party was behind him.
'Marjorie is wrong, and her intentional decision to compare the horrors of the Holocaust with wearing masks is appalling,' he said.
'The Holocaust is the greatest atrocity committed in history.
'The fact that this needs to be stated today is deeply troubling.'
Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader, who previously compared Greene to a 'cancer' in the Republican ranks, said: 'Once again an outrageous and reprehensible comment.'
After facing widespread condemnation from her own party, Greene defended her remarks and blamed the 'media' and 'American left' for stoking outrage.
The 'attempts to shame, ostracize, and brand Americans who choose not to get vaccinated or wear a mask are reminiscent of the great tyrants of history who did the same to those who would not comply,' she tweeted.
She has now dramatically changed her stance.
On Monday, Anderson Cooper said on CNN that he 'gave her props for apologizing - which is not something you hear very often from Q Anon' but warned she was still backing the dangerous claim that Democrats were like the Nazi party.
Tennessee State Senate Congressman Steve Cohen, who appeared on Cooper's show, said he too was glad she'd admitted her mistake but urged her to stop supporting lies, such as the election fraud, and back away from Q Anon which he claimed has anti-Semitic roots.
Her visit and apology come as a Democrat representative for Illinois, Brad Schneider, prepares to introduce a censure resolution condemning her remarks.
Republicans, meanwhile, are planning their own move against Ilhan Omar, a Democrat for Minnesota, who strongly criticized Israel.
Both members have become lightning rods in their own party, opening a window for the rival party to exploit and sow divisions.
