The war of words between Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and President Donald Trump escalated Tuesday as the longtime Trump loyalist turned the president’s “traitor” accusation back on him.
Greene, once one of the president’s most vocal supporters, has had a major fallout with Trump for taking part in the campaign to make public all the government files on the late sexual predator Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump, whose administration has refused to release Department of Justice documents on Epstein and claimed that the scandal is a Democratic Party “hoax,” on Saturday blasted Greene as a “traitor” for helping successfully force the House to hold a vote on publishing the entire trove of files.
Trump also withdrew his support for Greene, accusing her of being “Wacky” and having “gone Far Left.”
Ahead of the vote scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, Greene joined Epstein survivors at a news conference outside the U.S. Capitol and had some choice words for the president.
Greene noted that she was called “a traitor” by Trump despite years of giving “him my loyalty for free.”
“I fought for him, for the policies, and for America First,” she told reporters. “And he called me a traitor for standing with these women and refusing to take my name off the discharge petition.”
“Let me tell you what a traitor is,” the Georgia Republican continued. “A traitor is an American that serves foreign countries and themselves. A patriot is an American that serves the United States of America, and Americans like the women standing behind me.” (Watch a video at the top of the story.)
As well as criticizing Trump for his stance on Epstein, Greene has slammed him for defending visa programs for foreign-born skilled labor and for his foreign policy, which she denounced as “not America First positions.”
At the news conference, Greene pointedly noted that she was not a “Johnny-come-lately” to the MAGA movement.
The Epstein scandal has been “one of the most destructive things to MAGA,” she said, speaking of Trump as a figure who was supposed to “hold what we consider a corrupt government accountable.”
“Watching this actually turn into a fight has ripped MAGA apart,” she added.
Greene was one of four Republicans — including fellow Trump loyalists Reps. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) and Nancy Mace (S.C.) — who backed the Democrats in signing a petition to force a House vote on releasing the Epstein files.
