U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler granted an interview to a TV pundit associated with white supremacy and Nazism.
The interview aired on One America News Network on Thursday and Loeffler promoted it heavily on her Facebook and Twitter accounts Friday, tagging the controversial host.
“I joined @JackPosobiec on @OANN to discuss why I had to call out the BLM political organization — and why the woke mob is trying to cancel me,” she wrote in one tweet. “WATCH the full interview here.”
Jewish groups and media observers pointed out that Posobiec promotes conspiracy theories and once associated with white supremacists including Richard Spencer, who organized the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Va. Posobiec has been criticized in the past for posting anti-Semitic tweets, including tweets that included the numbers 14 and 88, codes used by neo-Nazis.
White supremacist David Lane, who died in prison, is known for promoting the “14 words” racist slogan: “We must secure the existence of our people and a future for white children.” The number 88 is code among neo-Nazis for Heil Hitler. (H is the eighth letter in the alphabet.)
She spoke to Posobiec for about five minutes, focused on her ongoing clash with the WNBA over its “Black lives matter” campaign.
Loeffler’s team would not say whether she was aware of Posobiec’s ties to Nazism and anti-Semitism, and they condemned the AJC for asking about it.
“Senator Loeffler refuses to be silenced by the left and their friends in the media. She won’t cave to the cancel culture’s ridiculous demands.”
She is co-owner of the Atlanta Dream WNBA team. She has spent about a month criticizing players’ decision to wear shirts saying “Black lives matter” or other social justice slogans and those who walk off the court during the national anthem.
“I felt some of the recent actions that the league has taken has really moved to divide us further at this moment when I think sports could be such a powerful, uniting force for our country,” she told Posobiec.
Posobiec, whose profile grew after President Donald Trump acknowledged him on Twitter, has been monitored by the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Hatewatch.
“He has enthusiastically promoted a range of lies, including the Pizzagate hoax, and attempted to discredit anti-Trump activists by planting an inflammatory ‘Rape Melania’ sign at a protest event,” the ADL wrote. “He frequently tweets anti-Muslim sentiments, and has harassed former Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin with anti-Muslim slurs online and in person, tweeting, ‘I screamed ‘Muslim Brotherhood’ at Huma Abedin.‘”
A New York-based group called Jews for Racial & Economic Justice says Loeffler’s interview with Posobiec only compounds their concerns about her.
While the WNBA protest has focused on the global anti-racism “Black lives matter” movement, Loeffler’s comments have focused on the Black Lives Matter Foundation, one of many organizations in a decentralized structure.
The foundation has left-leaning principals, and its founders faced criticism in 2016 after posting a platform — since abandoned — that some Jewish groups claimed had problematic language. One of the foundation’s founders described herself and another founder as “trained Marxists,” but there is no evidence Marxism is a guiding principle of the organization or the larger movement.
The WNBA’s demonstration is not tied to the foundation or any specific organization.
Loeffler has aligned herself with President Trump, who has also ignored Posobiec’s past anti-Semitic tweets and attempts to peddle conspiracy theories. In 2017, the White House provided a press credential to Posobiec when he briefly served as Washington bureau chief for Rebel Media, a right-wing outlet based in Canada.
A Monmouth University poll released Wednesday shown Loeffler leading U.S. Rep. Doug Collins in the November special election with 26% of support compared to his 20%. That free-for-all race also includes Democrats and third-party candidates.
Collins and Loeffler have both tried to establish themselves as the most pro-Trump conservative in the race.
