A high-profile Republican told journalist Emily Maitlis to “f*** off” in an interview about conspiracy theories.
Donald Trump ally Marjorie Taylor Greene was questioned by the former Newsnight presenter about her 2018 Facebook post in which she speculated lasers controlled by a left-wing cabal tied to a powerful Jewish family could have been responsible for sparking California wildfires.
In response, Ms Taylor Greene, in a video clip posted to podcast The News Agents’s social media – which was recorded at Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago headquarters on Tuesday, ended the conversation by responding “really why don’t you f*** off, how about that”.
Maitlis started the line of questioning by asking Ms Taylor Greene why “so many people that support Donald Trump love conspiracy theories, including yourself?”
She added that he “seems to attract lots of conspiracy theorists”.
Ms Taylor Greene replied: “Well let me tell you, you’re a conspiracy theorist and the left and the media spreads more conspiracy theories.
“We like the truth, we like supporting our Constitution, our freedoms and America First, so.”
As Ms Taylor Greene started to walk away, Maitlis asked: “What about Jewish space lasers? Tell us about Jewish space lasers.”
The Republican right-winger replied: “Why don’t you go talk about Jewish space lasers, and really why don’t you f*** off, how about that?”
The interview began with a different tone, as Maitlis asked Ms Taylor Greene about Mr Trump’s Republican opponent Nikki Haley and whether Ms Taylor Greene would like to be on Mr Trump’s list for vice president.