“My message to Kevin McCarthy is take away all her committee duties … don’t support her if she is running for re-election again and try to give her priority. If you say this isn’t your party, actually. Say it out. and hold her accountable, “Hogg told CNN’s Alisyn Camerota on” New Day. ”
He continued, “Republicans always act like they are the party of decency and respect. But would the Party of Decency and Respect wonder if school shootings took place? Would they harass the survivors of these shootings because they have different opinions from them? I do not think so. And if Kevin McCarthy doesn’t agree, he really needs to get up and do something about this congressman. ‘
Greene, who has been assigned to the House Education and Labor Committee, has faced calls to step down after agreeing with comments calling the 2018 shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School a ‘false flag’ operation , which refers to acts designed by offenders to appear as if they were performed by other individuals or groups. Hogg survived the shooting and has been a vocal advocate of tighter gun regulation ever since, co-founder of March for Our Lives.
The video follows Greene Hogg, then 18, as he walks to the Capitol and is heard making unfounded claims while asking him questions about gun rights and how to meet senators. Hogg keeps walking without speaking to Greene.
“He’s a coward,” Greene says at the end of the video as Hogg walks away, claiming his activism was funded by billionaire philanthropist George Soros, who is often the subject of far-right conspiracy theories, and other liberals. “He can’t say a word because he can’t defend his position.”
Greene made no apology in a statement to CNN, saying the video was taken while she was in Washington, “going from office to office in the Senate to oppose the radical gun control agenda advocated by David Hogg.”
Hogg reflected on his meeting with Greene on Thursday, telling Camerota that he was trying to keep “a straight face” and practice mindfulness meditation that helps him deal with PTSD and ADHD.
“Sometimes it’s just, you know, as I was told growing up, it’s just better not to respond to bullies and just walk away,” Hogg said.
He also said he “absolutely” felt it was a threat when Greene said in the video that she was carrying a gun, but said to himself “if they shoot me, they prove my point.”
“And the reality is they can’t kill a movement,” he told Camerota.
Mark Bednar, a McCarthy spokesman, told CNN in a statement Wednesday that her comments are “deeply troubling” and that the California Republican “intends to discuss it with the congressman.”
This story has been updated with additional notes and background information.
CNN’s Paul LeBlanc contributed to this report.