Trump cuts ties with Marjorie Taylor Greene and supports her opponent

President Donald Trump has publicly called for the withdrawal of one of his most powerful supporters in the MAGA-world, calling Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene a “weird” Marjorie and saying he would endorse a challenger against her in next year’s midterms “if the right person runs.”

The firing of Greene — once the epitome of “Make America Great Again,” who wore the signature red hat to President Joe Biden’s 2024 State of the Union address and served as a mediator between Trump and other Republicans on Capitol Hill — appeared to be the latest break in a feud that has been simmering for months, as Greene appears to have toned down her political profile. The three-term U.S. House member has increasingly broken with Republican leaders, attacking them during the just-ended federal government shutdown and saying they need a plan to help people losing financial support afford health insurance policies.

Trump accused the Georgia Republican of going “far left,” writing that all he’s seen from Greene in recent months is “complain, complain, complain!” Adding, regarding Greene’s alleged annoyance at her phone calls not being returned, “I can’t take Lunatic’s loud call every day.”

In a response to Show X, Greene wrote 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 regarding the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, which she said was “what pushed him over the edge.”

Green described it as “really surprising how hard he fought to prevent the Epstein files from being released, as he has already reached this level,” referring to the US House of Representatives’ vote next week to release the Epstein files.

She wrote that she supported Trump “with much of my valuable time, and much of my own money, and fought even harder for him even when all the other Republicans turned their backs and condemned him.” Greene added, “I do not worship or serve Donald Trump.”

Trump’s post appeared to tie the bow to the cracks that widened in the wake of this month’s off-session elections, in which voters in New Jersey and Virginia governor’s races flocked to Democrats in large part over concerns about the cost of living.

Last week, Greene told NBC News that “watching foreign leaders come into the White House through a revolving door doesn’t help Americans,” saying Trump needs to focus on rising prices at home rather than his recent focus on foreign affairs. Trump responded by saying Greene had “lost her way.”

When asked about Greene’s comments earlier Friday while traveling from Washington to Florida, Trump asserted that he felt “something happened to her over the last month or two,” saying that if he had not gone to China to meet with leader Xi Jinping, there would have been negative repercussions on jobs in Georgia and elsewhere because China would have maintained its restrictions on magnet exports.

Saying people were calling him, wanting to challenge Greene, Trump added, “I’ve lost a great conservative reputation.”

Greene’s dissatisfaction goes back to at least May, when she announced she would not run for Senate against incumbent Democratic nominee Jon Ossoff, while attacking GOP donors and advisers who fear she cannot win. In June, she publicly sided with Tucker Carlson after Trump called the commentator a “freak” in the divide that developed between MAGA and national security hardliners over potential US efforts at regime change in Iran.

This worsened in July, when Greene said she would not run for governor. She then attacked the “good ol’ boy” political system, claiming that it endangered Republican control of the state. Greene has embarked on a charm campaign in recent weeks, with interviews and media appearances targeting people who are not die-hard Trump supporters. When asked on comedian Tim Dillon’s show if she wanted to run for president in 2028, Greene said in October: “I hate politics so much” and just wanted to “fix the problems” — but she didn’t offer a specific answer.

This culminated in an appearance on Bill Maher’s “Real Time” on HBO, then days later on November 4 on ABC’s “The View.” Some observers began to regard Greene as reasonable as she attacked Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana for not calling Republicans back to Washington and coming up with a health care plan.

“I feel like I’m sitting next to a completely different Marjorie Taylor Greene,” said Sunny Hostin, co-host of “The View.”

“Maybe you should become a Democrat, Marjorie,” co-host Joy Behar said.

“I’m not a Democrat,” Greene replied. “I think both sides have failed.”