MTG Compares Biden’s Inauguration Security to Jan. 6 Rioters During Tirade
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) has habitually allowed her ignorance to shine in venues such as the Capitol floor, social media platforms, and the stages of various pro-Donald Trump rallies. Her streak continued on Tuesday at a House GOP press conference, where she compared the normal incorporation of the National Guard in security measures during Joe Biden’s 2021 inauguration to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
Greene, speaking as part of a group of House Republicans introducing a resolution declaring that Donald Trump is not an insurrectionist, blasted the press for describing the Jan. 6 insurrection as such. She labeled the thousands of people charged with federal crimes as simple Americans who just cared about election integrity.
“The American people who pay for elections with their tax dollars, actually own the elections and have the right to care about their elections, election integrity and the results of their elections when they came to Washington and protested,” Greene said. “All of you call it an insurrection, and then when Joe Biden was inaugurated and this entire Capitol Complex was surrounded with 30,000 National Guard troops, none of you stood there and call that an insurrection. Oh, no. You all stayed silent.”
Greene: When they came to Washington to protest, you called that an insurrection but when Biden was inaugurated and this Capitol was surrounded with National Guard troops, none of you stood there and called that an insurrection pic.twitter.com/1gI2vnmEqf
— Acyn (@Acyn) February 6, 2024
Greene’s rose-colored characterization of the violent attack on the Capitol and the subsequent security measures don’t acknowledge the past incorporation of the National Guard during presidential inaugurations.
Biden did indeed have an authorized 25,000 National Guard troops stationed in D.C. for his inauguration, a number 5,000 troops short of Greene’s lofty number and a figure that was authorized a week after the Jan. 6 attack. It was an increase from the 7,500 troops initially authorized for the inauguration, a number roughly on par with troops sanctioned for the most recent presidential inaugurations, according to numbers released by the National Guard. Donald Trump’s 2017 inauguration had 7,500 Guard members, while Barack Obama’s first inauguration in 2009 featured 9,300 Guard members.
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