A Donald Trump supporter told Emily Maitlis to “f*** off” when the broadcaster questioned her about her conspiracy claim Jewish space lasers started California wildfires.
Maitlis confronted the Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago headquarters on Super Tuesday.
The senior BBC journalist asked 49-year-old Greene for the News Agents podcast what message the party had for Trump’s challenger Nikki Haley and who the ex-US president should choose as his running mate.
But the mood turned sour when Maitlis probed: “Can you tell me why so many people who support Donald Trump love conspiracy theories, including yourself?
“He seems to attract lots of conspiracy theorists.”
Frustrated by the line of questioning, Greene replied: “Well, let me tell you, you’re a conspiracy theorist, and the left and the media spread more conspiracy theories. We like the truth. We like supporting our constitution, our freedoms and America first.”
Ex-BBC Newsnight host Maitlis pushed back: “What about Jewish space lasers? Tell us about Jewish space lasers?”
But Greene shut down the conversation and walked away saying: “Why don’t you go f*** off? How about that?”
“Thank you, thank you very much,” Maitlis replied – and calmly returned to the camera.
Maitlis was referencing Greene’s infamous 2018 Facebook post where she suggested the conspiracy theory connected to that year’s wildfires in California.
She has repeatedly distanced herself from the post in the years since and denied any anti-Semitism allegations.
On Super Tuesday, President Joe Biden and Donald Trump swept the state primaries that were held, making a White House rematch between them even more likely.
Biden won Democratic nominating contests in 14 states, plus Iowa where people voted by post, but lost in the territory American Samoa by 11 votes.
Meanwhile, Trump won 14 Republican contests - further cementing his strong overall lead over Haley, even though she secured a surprise win in Vermont.
