Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) on Monday hit back at Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s calls for a “national divorce” of Republican and Democratic states, saying the lawmaker’s rhetoric is “evil.”
Greene on Monday suggested the U.S. “separate by red states and blue states and shrink the federal government,” re-upping her suggestion of a “divorce” to solve the nation’s division. Cox countered that the country needs “marriage counseling” instead.
“This rhetoric is destructive and wrong and—honestly—evil. We don’t need a divorce, we need marriage counseling. And we need elected leaders that don’t profit by tearing us apart. We can disagree without hate. Healthy conflict was critical to our nation’s founding and survival,” Cox wrote on Twitter.
The Republican governor shared images of the Lincoln, Jefferson and Washington memorials in the nation’s capital, and quoted former GOP President Reagan in calling D.C. a “shining city on a hill” for Americans across the political spectrum.
Greene repeated her national divorce calls Monday as she criticized President Biden’s trip to Kyiv for a surprise meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky ahead of the one-year mark of Russia’s invasion.
“Impeach Biden or give us a national divorce,” she wrote.
Cox said he saw “American Exceptionalism at work” at the National Governors’ Association winter meeting earlier this month, sharing photos of himself seated alongside Democratic colleagues, including shots featuring Biden and Vice President Harris.
“We didn’t agree on everything, but we disagreed better. And we found ideas to bring us together. I still believe this is what Americans want… I don’t just mean civility and kindness (although we definitely need more of that too). I mean passionate disagreement that doesn’t destroy our souls and our country,” Cox said.