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Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene led a United States Department of Government Efficiency subcommittee on Mar. 26 that aimed to dispel controversy around federal spending on public television and radio from taxpayers.

Greene made several alarming statements about Americans that illustrate a common theme in President Donald Trump’s cabinet, as well as tendencies young professionals must avoid: deflection, denial and hypocrisy.

Greene’s purpose with the hearing was to attack, in her eyes, the radical leftist ideals NPR and PBS “push” for all Americans to believe. She insinuates these broadcasting channels are sexualizing and grooming children by airing family documentaries about young, transgender drag performers. She tried to cite many Americans as disapproving of this programming.

But, Greene lacks any evidence to back up these extreme, hurtful claims that demonize the LGBTQ+ community.

Even more worrying, Greene dangerously accused PBS of trying to brainwash children into becoming transgender, which implies that being transgender is a choice. She then ventured to say this issue is so prominent that it was a “driving force” for the Republican party gaining control of all three federal government branches.

Not a single one of these statements are true.

We need to use the increased awareness of the faults of politicians in our current political landscape as a lesson. It’s embarrassing how poor an example this administration sets for current youth in terms of how to carry yourself professionally.

Deflection after wrongdoings completely avoids accountability, preventing any sort of growth. It is unacceptable for the President’s cabinet to deny all forms of wrongdoing and diminish trust between Americans and their government.

Even while he and his close web of supporters continuously spread disinformation, Trump won the election by appealing to voters more in areas involving immigration, foreign affairs and the economy, per post-election statistics. On the other hand, Kamala Harris led more among voters supporting abortion rights and increased health care affordability.

While less than a third of the American population voted for Trump, his voting base continues to overlook his deflection and asinine statements in favor of economically pragmatic behavior. As long as Trump pushes the ultra-conservative rhetoric his followers devour, they will ignore any misinformation — no matter how blatant.

Ilana Zahavy | Design Editor

This isn’t the first time, nor will it be the last, that politicians make false claims founded on zero evidence to brainwash and mislead U.S. residents.

During the third presidential debate in 2016, Hillary Clinton confronted Trump’s history of complaining that everything he loses — from the Republican primary to an Emmy for his former TV show, “The Apprentice” — is rigged against him.

Clinton summarized the way Trump thinks is comical yet troubling, which is terrifying as he continues to oversee our current government.

In 2020, Trump posted several tweets claiming the election was rigged after former president Joe Biden won, setting another example of the pure denial displayed by our president, instead of losing with grace, responsibility and safety.

Most recently, members of Trump’s administration — including Vice President JD Vance and senior U.S. national security leaders — revealed in a group chat specific, classified military strike information to Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, who promptly exposed their shortsightedness.

Not only does this highlight an extreme security risk, but it’s also unprecedentedly unprofessional and violated multiple federal laws.

Zero accountability was taken when conservative politicians were asked about this scandal. CBS News asked Greene about her stance on the gravity of this moment, and although she agreed it was “sloppy,” she refused to acknowledge it as an alleged federal crime and pleaded it was a minor mistake.

In a classic show of hypocrisy, the Republicans currently deflecting blame for the military leaks were up in arms when emails by Hillary Clinton leaked in 2015 on unencrypted servers.

The current administration is set on downplaying the severity of their Signal gaffe, assuring it’s a minor mistake rather than a major security breach, which contrasts directly with the efforts to imprison Clinton — who never broke the law — 10 years earlier.

Current Secretary of State Pete Hegseth, who’s confirmed to have disclosed information in the group chat before instantly denying all responsibility, condemned Clinton in 2016.

The hypocrisy and deflection of accountability shown by this many conservative politicians is frightening, especially when it comes to critical issues that call for solidarity like national security.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt claimed on national television that the American people love what this president is doing, disturbingly generalizing and speaking for all U.S. citizens. Given Trump’s recent approval rating of under 50%, it’s clear she’s trying to convince, not inform.

While it’s our job as Generation Z and students to hold those in positions of power over us accountable, being responsible and aware of our own faults is vital to promote personal, holistic growth in college and the workplace beyond.

We must stay aware of the blatant hypocrisy and fight to make our voices heard when elected officials speak over us in exclusive generalizations.

Layla Poli is a sophomore majoring in public relations. She can be reached at lcpoli@syr.edu.

Published on April 1, 2025 at 10:20 pm