Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene ignited a diplomatic and political backlash on Wednesday after telling a British journalist to "go back to your country" during a press conference on Capitol Hill. The confrontation erupted when Sky News correspondent Martha Kelner questioned Greene about leaked U.S. military plans regarding airstrikes on Yemen.
The exchange, captured by C-SPAN cameras, came in response to a question about a Signal group chat that included high-level Trump administration officials and journalist Jeffrey Goldberg of The Atlantic. In that chat, participants reportedly disclosed sensitive details about U.S. military operations in Yemen, including a March 15 airstrike.
"Wait. What country are you from?" Greene asked upon hearing Kelner's accent. After Kelner identified herself as British, Greene cut her off. "We don't give a c--- about your opinion and your reporting. Why don't you go back to your country, where you have a major migrant problem?" she said.
The congresswoman's remarks were immediately condemned online and by political observers who noted Greene's vocal support for U.S. territorial expansion, including controversial proposals to annex Greenland, parts of Canada, and even the Suez Canal.
Kelner attempted to continue her line of questioning, asking, "Do you care about American lives being put at risk?" Greene responded by pivoting to a tirade on European immigration. "You should care about your own borders. Let me tell you something, do you care about people from your country?" she said, before dismissing Kelner's question as "fake news."
Greene then called on an American journalist, only to be redirected back to the Sky News reporter's original inquiry. "I'm not answering her question, because I don't care about her network," Greene stated.
The press conference took place amid growing scrutiny of security lapses stemming from the leaked group chat, which included Trump national security adviser Michael Waltz and inadvertently exposed operational details to a reporter. The White House has denied that any classified information was compromised, though the episode has raised alarms about digital communication among officials.
"You want to know about complete disregard for operational security?" Greene said. "You should talk about the Biden administration and how they ripped our borders open to terrorist cartels, child s-- trafficking, human trafficking, and drug trafficking across our borders for four years."
Greene attempted to redirect the narrative by defending former President Donald Trump's approach to military engagement. "My comment to you is I'm thankful to President Trump, that he is leading us out of wars, that he's ending the war in Ukraine, where American lives could have been killed if Joe Biden was still president today, whether he liked it or not," she said.
The incident marks the second time Greene has publicly clashed with a British journalist. In 2022, she made similar remarks toward Siobhan Kennedy of Channel 4. The recurrence has fueled accusations of xenophobia and undermining press freedom.
Reactions online were swift. One user on X, formerly Twitter, noted, "YOU ARE NOT INTERESTED IN OTHER COUNTRIES... that's an interesting view when you demand the accession of Canada, Greenland, Mexico, the Suez Canal." Another wrote: "Absolutely pathetic. I have no respect for any Briton who defends the United States' behavior anymore. This is not an ally but an openly hostile nation now."
