Marjorie Taylor Greene Mocked Over Declaration of Independence Gaffe

Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene has been widely mocked on social media after claiming certain Founding Fathers signed the Declaration of Independence when they did not.

On July 5, Greene wrote on X, formerly Twitter, "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 then listed eight Founding Fathers and their ages on that date.

Hours later, the post received a community note that said six of the eight figures she had listed did not sign the document. As of Monday morning, Greene's post had more than 2 million views, 10,000 likes and 6,500 comments. Newsweek has contacted Greene for comment outside normal business hours.

Of the names listed in the post, only Thomas Jefferson and John Hancock signed the Declaration of Independence. While James Madison, Alexander Hamilton, James Monroe, Aaron Burr, Paul Revere and George Washington were important figures in the American Revolution, they did not sign the document—which social media users were quick to point out.

One user wrote on X, "75% of the 'signers of the Declaration of Independence' listed here by Marjorie Taylor Greene did not actually sign the document," adding that the gaffe was a "reminder that it's really important for kids to stay in school."

Another user poked fun at the congresswoman by claiming Benjamin Franklin was the document's final signatory (it was Thomas McKean) and president of the United States, writing: "Thank you for this, Senator. And the final signature was applied by Ben Franklin, who was president at the time. Patriotic facts."

User @RepJackKimble, a parody account for a Republican representative for California's 54th Congressional District (the state has 52), wrote on X that Greene had forgotten to include other notable signers, such as "Johnny Appleseed, Paul Bunyan, and Ronald Reagan?"

Greene, a Georgia Republican whose support for staunchly right-wing policies propelled her to national prominence, has made several dubious and false statements in the past.

Earlier in June, she said that Dr. Anthony Fauci should be prosecuted for crimes against humanity for his role in the U.S. government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In May, she said the FBI intended to assassinate Donald Trump when it raided his Florida home in August 2022.

In 2018, she suggested that the Rothschilds, a wealthy Jewish banking family frequently referred to in antisemitic conspiracy theories, were involved in a profit-making plot to use space lasers to start wildfires in California.

She returned to the subject of space lasers in April, suggesting that the U.S. government should deploy Israeli "space lasers" at the Mexico border to stop illegal migration.

Greene has also repeatedly expressed skepticism about the U.S. Capital riot on January 6, 2021, and has routinely touted conspiracy theories and misinformation about the 2020 election. In 2021, she described inmates being held at a Washington, D.C., jail in connection with the Capitol riot as "political prisoners of war."