Trump ends support for Marjorie Taylor Greene amid growing Epstein feud

Donald Trump announced Friday that he is withdrawing his support and endorsement of Republican lawmaker Marjorie Taylor Greene, a longtime ally and previously fierce defender of the president and the Maga movement.

Trump’s move away from Greene came just hours after she said in an interview she thought the president’s attempts to stop the release of the files related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein is “insanely the wrong direction to go”.

“I am withdrawing my support and endorsement of ‘Congresswoman’ Marjorie Taylor Greene, of the great state of Georgia,” Trump posted on Truth Social on Friday evening. “All I see ‘Wacky’ Marjorie do is COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN!”

Trump said he would give his “unyielding support” to a primary challenge against her “if the right person runs”. Greene currently represents Georgia’s 14th congressional district.

Earlier on Friday, Greene told Politico that Trump should not be trying to stop the release of the Epstein files when rising costs in the US are making it difficult for even the president’s own supporters to pay their bills.

“It’s insanely the wrong direction to go. The five-alarm fire is healthcare and affordability for Americans. And that’s where the focus should be,” Greene said.

“Releasing the Epstein files is the easiest thing in the world. Just release it all. Let the American people sort through every bit of it, and, you know, support the victims. That’s just like the most common sense, easiest thing in the world. But to spend any effort trying to stop it makes – it just doesn’t make sense to me.”

Greene has spent the past few months voicing opinions that are at odds with those of the White House and some of her Republican colleagues. Earlier this week, Trump pushed back against criticism from Greene, saying she had “lost her way” after she accused him of paying too much attention to foreign affairs and not enough to the rising cost of living in the US.

Greene responded to Trump’s remarks on X a day after, saying that “the only way is through Jesus”.

“That’s my way, and I’ve definitely not lost it. Actually I’m working hard to put my faith into action,” she posted.

Escalations have increased since Trump’s return to office, as the 51-year-old has increasingly broken with the party on domestic and foreign policy. She criticised the White House for its plans to send “billions of dollars” in weapons to Ukraine and departed from the Republican party’s traditional support for Israel by calling its war in Gaza a “genocide”.

In an interview with the Washington Post, the Georgia congresswoman spoke about her discontent with congressional leaders of her own party, including the House speaker, Mike Johnson, amid the government shutdown that ended this week.

During the shutdown, she sided with Democrats in their push to provide healthcare subsidies, a rare move for a Republican.