Last week Marjorie Taylor Greene’s Twitter account was once again suspended, this time for a tweet that could “incite violence” against trans people. A mere five days later she’ll be profiled on 60 Minutes. The longtime Sunday night news program teased an interview seasoned journalist Lesley Stahl did with the incendiary MAGA lawmaker, but instead of drawing interest, it was met with condemnation.
Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, nicknamed MTG, isn’t afraid to share her opinions, no matter how intense and in-your-face they are. She sits down with Lesley Stahl this Sunday on 60 Minutes. https://t.co/mEN4CWeXMW pic.twitter.com/BIzcRHgrLT
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) March 31, 2023
“Georgia Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, nicknamed MTG, isn’t afraid to share her opinions, no matter how intense and in-your-face they are,” the show’s Twitter account wrote.
Stahl has been on 60 Minutes for over 30 years, and in that time she’s established herself as one of the most cool-headed interviewers of the rich and powerful. She asks tough questions in a way that doesn’t enrage her interviewees — unless they’re Donald Trump, who famously stormed out of one of their chats shortly before the 2020 election.
It’s possible Stahl’s segment will feature Greene squirming her way out of questions about, oh, let’s say, her stalking Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or harassing survivors of school shootings. But to many, 60 Minutes’ tweet and its eerily benign accompanying pictures made it look like a puff piece that would normalize someone who embraces anti-Semitic tropes, among other dangerous positions.
Why the hell is 60 Minutes going to give a platform to the hateful bigotry of Marjorie Taylor Greene? She will sit down with Lesley Stahl this Sunday on 60 Minutes to spout lies and hate I’m sure. This tweet is from this morning where she calls Stormy Daniels “old and… pic.twitter.com/cNF6UexiO7
— Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) March 31, 2023
Will Lesley Stahl ask MTG about this “in-your-face” opinion? @60Minutes is normalizing Marjorie Taylor Green for what purpose??? Why do the dirty work for the GOP? I swear even the media needs media literacy. https://t.co/KIQrkEQNaN pic.twitter.com/lah9gGQNo6
— Maya May (@mayaonstage) March 31, 2023
60 minutes would’ve been better just showing Lesley Stahl talking to an overflowing porta potty.
How to normalize fascism in America, by CBS. https://t.co/mIpcPSNxuq
— Jason Overstreet (@JasonOverstreet) March 31, 2023
Why are you giving her a platform ?
I might remind you that she is actively participating in a conspiracy to commit crimes against the United States of America and its citizens
She is a TRAITOR
You should be ashamed @60Minutes and Lesley Stahl https://t.co/BFydIiTnaZ
— Rick Taylor (@OhRick4) March 31, 2023
I’m done with @60Minutes. This interview normalizes LYING, conspiracy theories, and sedition. She’s on the same side as the Jan 6 insurrectionists. Why are they giving her air time? Such a bad look for Lesley Stahl. https://t.co/WhPkQPb38h
— SnowFairy
(@SnowFairyToo) March 31, 2023
It also inspired jokes, with many imagining 60 Minutes treating history’s worst monsters as quirky outsiders pushing against norms.
And next on 60 Minutes, Lesley Stahl talks with friends and relatives about the Ted Bundy we never knew. pic.twitter.com/w5k5AIJX5A
— Rick Havoc (@RikHavic) April 1, 2023
Wisconsin individualist Jeffrey Dahmer, nicknamed the Milwaukee Cannibal, isn’t afraid to set the menu, no matter how resistant the guests are or how tough they are to chew. Jeff sits down with Lesley Stahl this Sunday on 60 Minutes. https://t.co/foSiv4Ncgg
— David Rothkopf (@djrothkopf) April 1, 2023
Adolf Hitler, called “Führer” by his friends, isn’t afraid to share his opinion, no matter how intense and in-your-face they are. He sits down with Lesley Stahl this Sunday on 60 Minutes. https://t.co/Mw4D6eO4ro
— Dr. Sarah Parcak (@indyfromspace) March 31, 2023
Russian Leader Vladimir Putin, nicknamed GOAT, isn’t afraid to share his opinions, no matter how intense and in-your-face they are. He sits down with Lesley Stahl this Sunday to laugh at charges the ICC recently brought against him for his intense, in-your-face opinions.
— Mrs. Betty Bowers (@BettyBowers) March 31, 2023
Former Dem presidential nominee and grand wizard of the kkk turned republican rep David duke, nicknamed Duke, isn’t afraid to share his opinions, no matter how intense and in-your-face they are. He sits down with Lesley Stahl this Sunday on 60 Minutes. https://t.co/gmEU1DIKHQ https://t.co/SIdDxUHlcB
— klastastic (@klastastic) March 31, 2023
Others trusted Stahl would quietly go for the jugular.
This might be an unpopular opinion, but I think Lesley Stahl has decades of asking politicians incredibly brutal questions on camera, and it’s uncharitable to assume this will be a puff piece.
If you don’t want 60 minutes to cross examine her, whose job is it? https://t.co/pBSBeMVchE
— Brianna Wu (@BriannaWu) April 1, 2023
60 Minutes airs on CBS on Sunday, April 2 at 7pm.