WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) — The Presidency donald trump The lawmaker addressed Congress earlier this year. marjorie taylor green There were people holding American flags and wearing red baseball caps that read “Trump was right about everything.”
After his speech, he kissed her and her face lit up. With Trump back in power, Greene has been positioned as one of Trump’s most ardent political foot soldiers as Republicans seize control of all levers of power in Washington.
Their alliance did not last that year. I have a broken bone now The explosive feud could foreshadow further rifts within President Trump’s “Make America Great Again” movement ahead of next year’s midterm elections.
In recent weeks, Greene has increasingly criticized Trump’s focus on foreign policy and his reluctance to release more documents, insisting that his agenda should be focused on Americans. Jeffrey Epstein case. On Friday, the Republican president said he supports a preliminary challenge to the Georgia lawmaker.
“All ‘weird’ Marjorie does is complain, complain, complain!” Trump wrote on social media platforms as his motorcade was being taken from Air Force One to the Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
On Saturday, President Trump tried out her new nickname, calling her “Marjorie Taylor Brown” because “When green grass starts to rot, it turns brown!”
Trump has successfully defeated other challenges to his power over the years, but Greene is not backing down. She even suggested that she, not Trump, might be the true champion of “America First” policies.
“I believe in the American people more than any leader or political party, and they deserve far better treatment than how they have been treated by both sides of the aisle,” she wrote in her own post on Saturday.
She also said she feared for her safety because “threats against me are being fueled and incited by the most powerful man in the world.”
Trump supported Greene from the beginning.
Greene is not the first lawmaker to draw the ire of President Trump. But the split between the two is the most notable of his second term in office. She has been closely linked to him since 2020. she began her political career Located in rural northwest Georgia.
Greene, who supported the QAnon conspiracy theory and appeared with white supremacists and brandished an assault rifle, faced opposition from party leaders. Supported by Trump. He called her a “future Republican star” and “a true winner.”
Jason Shepherd, a former Georgia Republican official who left the party over disagreements with Trump supporters, said 2020 was a “perfect storm of political weirdness” amid the chaos caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Georgia is one of the close states, with Trump disputing his loss to Democrat Joe Biden and even putting pressure on Georgia’s secretary of state. To “find” enough votes to reverse the results.
“We have no idea what position Marjorie Taylor Greene will take next,” said Shepherd, a lawyer and political science professor who lives in Greene’s district.
“I don’t know if she has any core beliefs other than what serves her best,” he says.
Greene began her term in Congress at the same time Trump left the White House and supported the lies fueling his campaign. January 6, 2021, the attack on the U.S. Capitol. An object of liberal scorn, she became a media staple as a promoter of Trumpian conservatism and a loyal lieutenant in his 2024 comeback campaign.
But tensions appear to have started earlier this year, when Greene was exploring a possible 2026 race against Jon Ossoff, one of Georgia’s two Democratic senators. Trump said he sent polls showing Greene “didn’t have a chance.” she finally passed the race He later declined to run for Georgia governor, but he attacked the political “good old boy” system and accused it of endangering Republican control of the state.
New green?
Greene has recently struck a different, more conciliatory tone.
Appearing on ABC’s “The View,” a daytime talk show considered a safe haven for Democrats, she said “people with powerful voices,” especially women, “need to blaze a new trail.”
The rhetoric sparked speculation that Greene herself was considering a presidential run, which was later denied by her boyfriend, conservative reporter Brian Glenn, who is known for his friendly questioning of Trump.
Greene has also criticized President Trump, particularly his efforts with other countries. she told Tucker Carlson last month. Administration’s support for Argentina At a time when Americans are angry about the prices of essential goods, this was a “puncture in the gut.”
Greene is one of the few Republicans who supports efforts to force the Justice Department. Release more documents about Epsteina convicted sex offender who had ties to some of the most powerful people in the country. President Trump has a hard time stopping questions like: his own ties to EpsteinHe was found dead in prison in 2019, and authorities ruled it a suicide.
President Trump dismissed Greene’s criticisms on Monday, telling reporters: “She’s lost her way.”
Sean Harris, a retired Army general and Democrat who lost to Greene in 2024, is scheduled to run against Greene again in 2026. Greene’s changes are part of an attention-grabbing move, he said.
“Marjorie is always picking fights with people to stay in the news, but now it’s President Trump’s turn,” Harris wrote in a text message. “But neither has done anything for the hardworking people here in northwest Georgia. Given recent events, it’s not clear that his endorsement will help anyone.”
President Trump competes with Democrats and Republicans in midterm elections
It is common for party coalitions to develop cracks over time, especially when a president serves a second term and party members begin to think about a future without him.
President Trump has largely avoided that so far. he is toying with the possibility of run for a third termDespite the constitution prohibiting extension of his term of office, he did his best. Impregnable influence over the Republican-controlled Congress.
He faces a major political test next year as Democrats seek to retake the House majority, giving him the power to block legislation and launch investigations into his administration.
The president is trying to improve his party’s chances by applying pressure to states. Redraw Congressional Districts This is to benefit the Republican Party, but at the same time it is trying to purge members who it considers to be disloyal. Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massey is already a target A primary challenge supported by President TrumpAnd if she and the president don’t reconcile, as has sometimes happened after Trump has fallen out with allies, Greene could become the next president.
No one has announced they will be entering the race right away, but some are considering it.
State Sen. Colton Moore, a Republican from the area, previously announced his candidacy against Ossoff and criticized Greene. “I’m more annoyed with her than President Trump, but she doesn’t care,” he said.
On Saturday, he complained that he was “run away” every time he called her office for help. He also praised President Trump’s economic response.
“I also have a passport filled with countries around the world that I visited last year,” he said. “Everything is worse than the US.”
Asked if he planned to challenge Greene, Moore said in a text: “My purpose in life is one and only… to put America first.” ____ Amy reported from Atlanta.
