Greene Expresses ‘Pity’ for Trump as Feud Deepens, Predicts GOP Midterm Losses
A growing rift between Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene and former President Donald Trump has escalated into a public exchange of criticism, with the Georgia Republican expressing “pity” for the former president and predicting Republican losses in the upcoming midterm elections. The escalating conflict, stemming from disagreements over policy and the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, has culminated in Greene’s recent announcement of her resignation from Congress.
Greene told CBS News on Wednesday that she is beginning to feel sorry for Trump, characterizing his attacks as a reflection of his own shortcomings. “I actually am starting to feel very sorry for President Trump,” she said. “It’s actually a very poor reflection on him that he chooses to speak about me that way.” Trump has repeatedly disparaged Greene, labeling her a “traitor” and a “lunatic” after she diverged from Republican leadership on key issues.
The catalyst for the public fallout was Greene’s push for the release of documents related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and her criticism of the Republican Party’s lack of a concrete plan to address expiring Affordable Care Act premium tax credits. She has also voiced concerns about the impact of Trump’s past tariffs and deportation policies on American businesses. Last month, Trump withdrew his support for Greene and signaled a potential challenge to her reelection. A week later, Greene announced her departure from Congress, citing the fractured relationship with the former president.
Since then, Trump has continued his verbal attacks, recently calling Greene a “dumb person” and comparing her to a “Rotten Apple” following her interview with “60 Minutes.” Greene believes this rhetoric could be detrimental to the Republican Party’s appeal to female voters. “He always continues to speak about women like this, and that’s something that women all over the country pay attention to,” she stated. “I think the Republican Party needs to take a hard look at it, because the Republican Party has a very difficult time with women voting for them.”
Greene further suggested that Trump’s perceived lack of awareness is a significant issue. “It’s unfortunate that President Trump thinks loyalty is a one-way street. It’s really not,” she added. “I do feel sorry for him, because I think he’s extremely unaware, and I don’t know how he can be unaware about this, but he’s not aware of how it makes him really look.”
Beyond the personal attacks, Greene challenged Trump’s assessment of the economy, arguing that his dismissal of concerns about affordability is out of touch. While lawmakers across the political spectrum emphasize the need to address economic pressures, Trump has defended his policies and dismissed Democratic concerns as a “hoax,” even assigning his economic performance an “A+++++” grade.
“The president needs to be aware that he’s a billionaire president of the United States,” Greene countered. “You can’t gaslight people and tell them that their bills are affordable, and you can’t tell them that the economy is in A+++. You just can’t do that, and I think it’s insulting to people’s intelligence.”
Looking ahead to the midterm elections, Greene expressed pessimism about the Republican Party’s chances, attributing the potential losses to a failure to embrace economic populism. “I do believe at this time that Republicans will lose the midterms, and I think that’s unfortunate,” she said. “I very much wanted to be part of a Republican majority in Congress that solved problems for the American people, that delivered what we promised to America.”
Greene revealed she did not consult with Speaker Mike Johnson before announcing her resignation, a decision that leaves the Louisiana Republican with a narrower margin in the House. She explained that the decision was personal and supported by her family, and she did not feel obligated to inform Johnson. Johnson, however, stated he was “surprised” by her decision, while acknowledging past disagreements and expressing respect for her choice.
Greene also aligned herself with other female Republican representatives, including Elise Stefanik and Nancy Mace, who have recently criticized Johnson’s leadership, suggesting he faces broader challenges within the conference. “I think he has a broader problem with the entire conference as a whole,” she explained. “The Republicans have a problem. They’re going to have a really hard time trying to go back to their districts and ask for re-election and new Republican candidates running in other House seats are going to have a very hard time asking for votes when this Congress, this Republican majority here, has produced hardly anything to give back to the people.”
Despite the internal turmoil, Trump publicly expressed confidence in Johnson’s ability to maintain party unity, calling him a “fantastic speaker” and highlighting the passage of what he described as “the biggest bill in the history of our country.”
The dispute between Greene and Trump also extends to the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Greene was a key advocate for the bipartisan effort to compel the Justice Department to fully disclose information about the convicted sex offender, and the Epstein Files Transparency Act passed overwhelmingly last month, mandating the release of the files by December 19. “I’ll believe it when I see it, and I really hope the Trump administration does the right thing,” she said. “I think, if they don’t release all of the information, and the women are the ones that will know, I think that will be a complete break of trust with MAGA.”
Greene emphasized that she feels “completely freed” by taking a stand with the victims of Epstein, even if it means being labeled a “traitor” by Trump. “If President Trump called me a traitor, over standing with these women who were raped, victimized, trafficked for so many years, and this is something the government completely covered up and protected rich, powerful elites, if that’s why President Trump called me a traitor, then I’m like, that’s fine, you know, I’m completely okay with it.”
Ultimately, Greene cited the escalating death threats directed at her and her family as a decisive factor in her decision to resign. “It was the direct death threats and assassination threats on my son, and that crossed my line,” she said. “It should cross anyone’s line, no matter who we are, no matter what disagreements we have.”
