President Donald Trump has publicly announced his break with one of the world’s most ardent MAGA supporters, calling her Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene “‘Weird’ Marjorie” and saying he will support a challenger to her in next year’s midterm elections “if the right person runs.”
The firing of Greene, who was once the epitome of “Make America Great Again,” donning her signature red hat during President Joe Biden’s 2024 State of the Union address and acting as a mediator between Trump and other Capitol Hill Republicans, appeared to be the final breakthrough in a controversy that had been simmering for months as Greene appeared to have moderated her political profile.
The three-term U.S. congressman has been increasingly vocal about his opposition to Republican leadership, attacking them during the just-ended federal government shutdown and calling for a plan to help people who lost subsidies get health insurance.
President Trump accused the Georgia Republican of going “far left” and wrote that all he had seen from Greene in recent months was “complain, complain, complain!” “I can’t stand being verbally abused by Lunatic every day,” she added, referring to Green’s alleged frustration with not answering her phone calls.
Greene wrote in a response to X on Friday that Trump “attacked me and lied about me.” She added a screenshot of a text she said she sent to the president earlier in the day about releasing Jeffrey Epstein’s files, which she said “pushed him to the extreme.”
“It’s really amazing how hard he’s fighting to prevent the release of the Epstein files, that he’s actually reached this level,” Greene said, referring to next week’s U.S. House of Representatives vote on releasing the Epstein files.
Greene wrote that she has supported Trump, “spending a great deal of my precious time and personal finances, fighting hard for him even when almost every other Republican turned their backs and condemned him.” She added, “I do not worship or serve Donald Trump.”
Trump’s post appears to have settled a rift that widened after this month’s off-cycle elections, when voters in New Jersey and Virginia’s gubernatorial races flocked to Democrats, largely because of concerns about the cost of living.
Greene told NBC News last week that “watching foreign leaders come into the White House through a revolving door does not help Americans,” and said President Trump needs to focus less on foreign affairs and more on high prices at home these days. In response, President Trump said Greene was “lost.”
Asked about Greene’s comments early Friday morning while en route from Washington to Florida, President Trump reiterated that he felt “something happened to her in the last month or two,” and said that had he not gone to China to meet with leader Xi Jinping, China’s continuing restrictions on magnet exports would have had a negative impact on jobs in states like Georgia.
Trump said people were calling to challenge Greene, adding: “She has lost her great conservative reputation.”
Greene’s complaints date back to at least May, when she announced she would not run against Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff in the Senate race and attacked Republican donors and consultants who feared she would not win. In June, she publicly supported Trump after he called commentator Tucker Carlson a “freak” amid a rift between MAGA and national security hardliners over potential U.S. efforts to overthrow the Iranian regime.
That trend was further reinforced in July when Greene announced she would not run for governor. She then attacked the political “good old boy” system, arguing that it was endangering Republican control of the state. Greene has launched a charm offensive in recent weeks with interviews and media appearances aimed at people who are not ardent Trump supporters. Asked on comedian Tim Dillon’s podcast if she wanted to run for president in 2028, Greene said in October that “I hate politics” and just “want to solve problems,” without giving a definitive answer.
It culminated with an appearance on Bill Maher’s HBO show “Real Time,” followed a few days later by an appearance on ABC’s “The View” on Nov. 4. Some observers began to credit Greene with being reasonable, just as she criticized Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana for failing to bring Republicans back to Washington and create a health care plan.
“The View” co-host Sunny Hostin said, “I feel like I’m sitting next to a completely different Marjorie Taylor Greene.”
“Marjorie, maybe you should be a Democrat,” co-host Joy Behar said.
Greene replied, “I’m not a Democrat.” “I think both sides failed.”
