As lawmakers on both sides of the aisle await McCarthy's meeting with Greene regarding her litany of controversies and conspiracies, the congresswoman appears to be backpedaling on at least one issue: school shootings.
Linda Beigel Schulman - a Florida mother whose son was one of 17 killed in the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida - revealed earlier this week that she spoke with Greene on Saturday regarding her past comments regarding the two school shootings.
"When we started our conversation, I was totally upfront and told Congresswoman Greene that I was going to be on MSNBC today," she detailed. "Parameters were set, and the only topic discussed would be the school shootings at Parkland and Sandy Hook and that the conversation would be totally confidential. Our talk went very well."
"My first question to Congresswoman Greene was do you really believe that Parkland and Sandy Hook were false flags and staged?" Schulman recounted. "Her answer to me was 'unequivocally, no, I do not.'"
Greene, has been vocal about her skepticism regarding the Parkland and Sandy Hook shootings. A screenshot obtained by Media Matters for America shows Greene replying in agreement to a netizen who claimed the father of Parkland mass shooting victim was getting a "pay off to keep his mouth shut since it was a false flag planned shooting."
Answer the question posed by @fred_guttenberg
— RubberGlueInvective (@rubber_glue) January 21, 2021
Do you still believe Parkland was a false flag planned shooting?
Why won't you respond? pic.twitter.com/JZvwHyOE4l
Schulman told MSNBC that while she "very much wanted to" believe the congresswoman, there is a disconnect between Greene's public and private statements.
"Unless she wants to get in front of the public and wants to right the wrong lies being espoused out there and wants to disavow the things that she said, no, I can't believe it," Schulman said.
"Maybe inside of her she believes it. I don't know. I have no idea. I'm not inside of her, but you can — words are very powerful, but actions speak louder than words."
Greene also issued a statement on the matter.
"These are not red flag instances. They are not fake and it's terrible the loss that these families go through ... and it should never happen and it doesn't have to happen if we would protect our children properly," she stated on One America News Network. It's unclear if she meant "false flag" instead of "red flag."
Greene Reposts Video, Reignites Parkland Conspiracy Controversy
Nevertheless, Greene has been highly critical of Parkland shooting survivor-turned-gun legislation advocate David Hogg.
Footage recorded March 2019 shows Greene confronting Hogg in Washington, DC, "for his push to lobby lawmakers to trample on our Second Amendment Rights," according to the congresswoman's YouTube description.
It's worth noting that Greene did not upload the confrontation until January 21 and the clip has received a mere 625 likes against more than 8,100 dislikes.
Be advised, the footage below has themes that may offend some audiences.
"If there had been -- if Scot Peterson, the resource officer at Parkland, had done his job then Nikolas Cruz wouldn't have killed anybody in your high school, or at least protected them," Greene is overheard saying.
"Why are you supporting red-flag gun laws that attack our Second Amendment right and why are you using kids as a barrier? Do you not know how to defend your stance?"
"Can I just point out how ridiculous it is that it's on the survivors of gun violence to stand up to gun violence and be the ones to try end to it? Why do we have elected officials if that's the case? Why can't they do their jobs?" Hogg stated during his Thursday appearance on CNN's "New Day."
The 20-year-old told host Alisyn Camerota that he believes Greene, who was not an elected official at the time, was "trying to get a rise out of me."
Greene has also referred to Hogg as "#littleHitler."
'Disavow': House Democrats Issue Ultimatum to GOP Minority Leader
Hogg also used his CNN interview to call on House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), urging the GOP leader to strip Greene of her House Education and Labor Committee and the House Budget Committee assignments.
"My message to Kevin McCarthy is, take all of her committee assignments away ... also, don't support her when she runs for re-election again and try to get her primaried. If you say this is not your party, actually call it out and hold her accountable," the 20-year-old asserted.
McCarthy stated last week that Greene's alleged "comments are deeply disturbing." McCarthy's spokesperson added that the minority leader "plans to have a conversation with the Congresswoman" concerning the allegations.
Politico reported Monday that House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-NY) issued an ultimatum to McCarthy: remove Greene from her House committee seats within 72 hours, or the matter will be taken to the House floor.
Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz echoed Hoyer's same-day comments and told reporters that she intends to push a resolution that would sideline the embattled congresswoman.
Greene has maintained that she has shared and interacted with social media posts that do not necessarily "represent my views." She asserted in a January 26 statement that CNN and the "Fake News Media" are trying to "cancel" her "because I'm a threat to their goal of Socialism [sic]."
