Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has lengthy styled herself as Capitol Hill’s reigning chaos agent, thriving on provocation and unflinching loyalty to President Donald Trump. She’s now attempting to promote a really completely different model of herself.
Greene’s interview with CNN’s Dana Bash on Sunday marked an uncommon flip for a lawmaker who has lengthy fueled the nation’s political flamethrower. Amongst different issues, Greene mentioned she needs to tug again from the “toxic” rhetoric she as soon as handled as a part of the job. The promise landed with further weight as a result of she’s brazenly sparring with Trump lately, and he’s begun taking private photographs at her as their long-running alliance unravels in public view.
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Greene, for her half, has began placing daylight between herself and the broader GOP. She’s criticized get together leaders over the federal government shutdown, which ended final week, and forged herself—not for the primary time—as a truth-teller in a celebration unwilling to confront its personal dysfunction.
However the CNN interview revealed one thing deeper: Greene is afraid of the fallout from Trump’s phrases.
“The most hurtful thing [Trump] said, which is absolutely untrue, is he called me a traitor, and that is so extremely wrong,” she informed Bash. “Those are the types of words used that can radicalize people against me and put my life in danger.”
When Bash requested why Greene stayed silent when Trump used related language about others, Greene didn’t dodge. She known as it “fair criticism” and supplied one thing exceedingly uncommon from her: an apology.
“I would like to say, humbly, I’m sorry for taking part in the toxic politics; it’s very bad for our country,” she mentioned. “It’s been something I’ve thought about a lot, especially since Charlie Kirk was assassinated.”
Greene mentioned she has spent current weeks reflecting on the threats and vitriol she has helped normalize.
“I’m only responsible for myself and my own words and actions … and I’ve been working on this a lot lately, to put down the knives in politics,” she mentioned. “I really want to just see people be kind to one another.”
If that appears like a brand new chapter, it will be—as a result of the outdated one was unmistakable. Greene’s rise was powered by incendiary rhetoric and conspiracy-laden tirades that alarmed Democrats and Republicans alike. She misplaced her committee assignments early in her first time period after CNN revealed she had proven assist for Fb posts advocating violence in opposition to Democrats.
Her historical past contained in the Home GOP hardly helps her case that she’s newly dedicated to affordable politics. Greene has feuded with colleagues for years and was finally expelled from the Home Freedom Caucus in 2023 after a collection of inside blowups. She dismissed the expulsion on the time—calling the group a “drama club”—however the disputes stored coming.
Throughout a committee listening to the next yr, she took a swipe at Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s look and ended up in a back-and-forth with New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez that rapidly turned one of many most-watched clips on Capitol Hill.
Lately, she insists she is completed with all of it. America, she informed CNN, wants “a new path forward” and leaders prepared “to come together and end all the toxic, dangerous rhetoric and divide.”
“I’m leading the way with my own example, and I hope that President Trump can do the same,” she mentioned.
Then once more, she nonetheless sparks controversy. In the identical interview with Bash she spoke in favor of Tucker Carlson having white supremacist Nick Fuentes on his podcast, as she defined, as a result of she believes in free speech.
“And I think it’s important for people like Tucker Carlson and yourself to interview everyone. I don’t believe in trying to cancel someone by refusing to interview them and question them.”
Why the sudden reinvention? Greene gained’t say straight, however worry appears to be doing a few of the speaking. She urged Sunday that Trump’s current barrage of assaults might have helped set off a pipe-bomb menace at her building firm’s workplace and a collection of hoax pizza deliveries.
“President Trump’s unwarranted and vicious attacks against me were a dog whistle to dangerous radicals that could lead to serious attacks on me and my family,” she wrote on X.
She repeated the priority a number of occasions in her submit, saying she has endured swatting makes an attempt and threats through the years—harassment she has lengthy attributed to “the left.” This time, although, she argued Trump is fueling a contemporary wave.
“Now that President Trump has called me a traitor, which is absolutely untrue and horrific … this puts blood in the water and creates a feeding frenzy,” Greene mentioned. “It could ultimately lead to a harmful or even deadly outcome.”
Trump has proven little curiosity in de-escalation. Over the weekend, he signaled assist for a main challenger to Greene and blasted her on Reality Social as “Wacky Marjorie Traitor Brown,” insisting she is answerable for her personal troubles.
“All I see ‘Wacky’ Marjorie do is COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN!” the president posted.
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Greene famous that the threats in opposition to her got here days earlier than a scheduled Home vote to launch Epstein-related paperwork, although she didn’t tie the occasions straight collectively. She defended her personal file, saying she has “one of the most conservative” voting histories in Congress and has paid all her get together dues.
“I love America and the American people, and I swore an oath to uphold the Constitution and always do so. I am not a traitor,” she wrote. “The toxic and dangerous rhetoric in politics must end, and we need healing in this country for all Americans.”
Whether or not Greene is definitely breaking from MAGA or just navigating a very messy public rupture stays an open query. What’s clearer is that the person who as soon as empowered her is now concentrating on her—and Greene is discovering that stepping away from Trumpism will be much more harmful than embracing it.
