In a striking political confession, US congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene has declared she was "just so naive" for believing former President Donald Trump was a genuine man of the people. The Georgia representative made the comments in a lengthy interview with the New York Times, just days before she is set to step down from her congressional seat.
A Pivotal Moment of Disillusionment
Greene, a previously unrepentant MAGA acolyte, detailed a series of minor ruptures with Trump that culminated in a total breach. The definitive moment, she explained, came in September during the televised memorial service for conservative influencer Charlie Kirk, who was killed. Greene was moved when Kirk's widow, Erika, publicly forgave her husband's killer.
However, Trump then took the stage and starkly contrasted himself with Kirk, whom he called "a missionary with a noble spirit." "I hate my opponent, and I don't want the best for them," Trump stated. Greene told the Times that remark was "absolutely the worst statement" and revealed the true nature of Trump's character. "It just shows where his heart is," she said, arguing it proved he lacked the "sincere Christian faith" exhibited by Erika Kirk.
The Break and a New Political Reality
Greene said that moment caused her to turn away from the hardline MAGA playbook of never apologising. "As a Christian, I don't believe in doing that," she stated, aligning herself with Kirk's widow. She later told a friend that after Kirk's death, "I realized that I'm part of this toxic culture. I really started looking at my faith. I wanted to be more like Christ."
Her political repositioning has since seen her clash with both the Trump administration and Republican leadership on several fronts. She has labelled the war in Gaza a "genocide" and expressed scepticism over economic, healthcare, and foreign policies she claims fail to prioritise working-class Americans.
The Final Straw: The Epstein Files
Greene told the newspaper her break was completed over a congressional vote to release investigative files related to the convicted sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. She described the Epstein case as "everything wrong with Washington," a story of "rich, powerful elites doing horrible things and getting away with it."
After meeting with victims of Epstein, Greene claimed Trump called her and yelled, "my friends will get hurt" if the files were released. This incident seemingly cemented her disillusionment with the political establishment she once fervently supported.
In a notable reversal, Greene also admitted she was wrong to have accused Democrats of treason in the past. She now finds herself a political outcast, acknowledging, "I'm, like, radioactive." Despite this, she insists her core views haven't changed but that she has "matured" and "developed depth" through her experience in a "broken" Washington.
