‘Stay in school’: Marjorie Taylor Greene mocked over July 4th gaffe

Georgia representative was ridiculed for muddling up details about the signers of the Declaration of Independence

James Liddell
Monday 08 July 2024 15:34 BST
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Australian anchor cuts off-the-rails interview with Marjorie Taylor Greene

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Louise Thomas

Louise Thomas

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Marjorie Taylor Greene’s patriotic Fourth of July social media post blew up in her face after she butchered seemingly basic facts.

The Georgia representative took to X with high-hopes of giving users a history lesson on Friday. By Monday afternoon, the post had garnered over 2.3 million views and a tirade of teasing comments, with some outlining the importance that kids “stay in school.”

“The average age of the signers of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776 was 44 years old, but more than a dozen were 35 or younger,” she wrote to her 3.3 million followers.

While by today’s standards it appears an impressive feat, the average life expectancy across the US in 1776 was between the ages of 35 and 38. But Greene’s worst gaffe was yet to come.

She continued to list eight founding fathers and their ages 248 years ago: Thomas Jefferson, 33, John Hancock, 39, James Madison, 25, Alexander Hamilton, 21, James Monroe, 18, Aaron Burr, 20, Paul Revere, 41, George Washington, 44.

Of those listed in the post, only Jefferson and Hancock signed the Declaration of Independence.

Just hours later, the Republican lawmaker was bombarded with comments about her mistake, along with a community note that said six of the eight figures she had listed did not sign the document.

“James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, James Monroe, Aaron Burr, Paul Revere, and George Washington were not signers of the Declaration of Independence,” it read.

X users seized on the opportunity to point out Greene’s inaccuracies.

“75% of the ‘signers of the Declaration of Independence’ listed here by Marjorie Taylor Greene did not actually sign the document,” one user wrote, adding that it was a reminder “for kids to stay in school.”

“You got a majority of names wrong. How are you in congress!!??? We need a civics test to run for government,” read another scathing reply.

Despite the mockery for her factually inaccurate post, Greene has decided to keep it on her X feed.

It wasn’t her only Independence Day themed social media post to rub users the wrong way.

In another post, she reminded Americans to “stand strong against tyranny,” which resulted in some X users accusing her of gaslighting.

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