Kathrine Frich
For years, Marjorie Taylor Greene was one of the most recognisable figures in the MAGA movement.
She carved out a national profile as a hard-line conservative and one of Donald Trump’s most vocal defenders in Congress.
Her rise from political outsider to key player in the former president’s orbit made her a loyalist symbol within the Republican Party’s populist wing.
But that same proximity also set the stage for a dramatic rupture now unfolding in public.
Shifting loyalties
Following Trump’s victory in the 2024 Republican primary race, Greene says she noticed a marked change among her colleagues.
In an interview with CBS’s 60 Minutes, she claimed that Republican lawmakers who once mocked Trump quickly repositioned themselves after his political resurgence.
Host Lesley Stahl asked what fellow Republicans say about Trump when he is not present.
Greene answered: “I think they’re terrified to step out of line and get nasty Truth Social posts about them.”
She continued:
“I’ve watched a lot of my colleagues go from making fun of [Trump], making fun of how he talks, making fun of me constantly for supporting him. When he won the primary in 2024, they all decided to start kissing his a*s and putting on a MAGA hat for the first time.”
Fallout with Trump
Greene’s remarks come after months of escalating tensions between her and the president.
Their political partnership unravelled earlier this year when Trump publicly withdrew his support for the Georgia congresswoman and dismissed her grievances.
On Truth Social, he wrote: “All I see ‘Wacky’ Marjorie do is COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN!” He also claimed she was angered after he sent her internal polling suggesting she would fare poorly in a Senate or gubernatorial race without his endorsement. Trump said she “wasn’t about to get” that support.
He later labelled her a “ranting lunatic,” prompting Greene to announce she would leave Congress.
Trump strikes back again
After the 60 Minutes interview aired, Trump issued another round of attacks.
“The only reason Marjorie ‘Traitor’ Brown (Green turns Brown under stress!) went BAD is that she was JILTED by the President of the United States,” he wrote.
He added:
“She sort of reminds me of a Rotten Apple! Marjorie is not AMERICA FIRST or MAGA, because nobody could have changed her views so fast, and her new views are those of a very dumb person.”
Trump also accused Greene of making “many really stupid statements” and claimed she had a low IQ.
Sources: CBS 60 Minutes, Truth Social, Ladbible.
