‘Boy oh boy this is stupid’: Marjorie Taylor Greene tries to talk basketball, compares COVID to HIV

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) called the NBA “fascist” and tried to make a false equivalency between COVID-19 and HIV in a tweet on Thursday, as she continued to push anti-vax sentiments.

Greene, who has already pushed COVID-19 conspiracy theories, lashed out at the NBA because Brooklyn Nets player Kyrie Irving is being benched over his refusal to get a coronavirus vaccine.

Perhaps not shockingly, Greene’s tweet is incorrect. While Greene felt the NBA was “fascist,” her anger should be directed at the team, which benched him because he cannot play in their arena due to New York City’s proof of vaccination mandate for indoor facilities like sports arenas. While he could play in some other cities, the team chose to take him completely out of its lineup.

Irving’s refusal to get the vaccine has made him somewhat of a darling of the right. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) similarly praised Irving and other players who aren’t getting vaccinated.

This is far from the first time Greene has expressed anti-vax views, or generally spread coronavirus misinformation.

Regardless, the Georgia lawmaker then continued to try and compare the situation to Magic Johnson having HIV. That comparison sparked a wave of criticism.

“The fascist NBA won’t let Kyrie Irving play for refusing a vaccine. But yet they still let Magic Johnson play with HIV,” she tweeted.

Greene’s conflation of COVID and HIV was too much for people, who criticized the congresswoman for her take. Besides being dismissive, it’s worth noting that COVID and HIV are not spread the same way.

“I haven’t heard a comment this ignorant about HIV/AIDS since the bad old days of the 80s epidemic when evangelists were calling it God’s punishment on homosexual men and when rampant politicized misinformation led to stigmatization of people with the illness. You fucking monster,” writer Jared Petty tweeted.

“This is what happens when you mix just the right amounts of stupid and evil,” a Twitter user wrote.

“Isn’t it scary that some elected officials are this stupid?” another Twitter user chimed in with.

They weren’t the only ones.

Besides the ridicule, Greene’s tweet may not have even been original.

Others pointed out that Greene’s tweet was remarkably similar to a tweet from Lavern Spicer, a Republican running for a House seat in Florida.