Donald Trump’s apparent reluctance to publicly back Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene’s gubernatorial bid triggered her potential break with the GOP, according to an expert.
Once one of the president’s most loyal supporters, Greene ramped up her anti-Republican rhetoric over the weekend, claiming that she had become disillusioned with the party and questioned its treatment of female politicians.
In an interview with the Daily Mail, the conservative firebrand blasted the Trump administration’s handling of the Jeffrey Epstein case, criticized U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities in June and condemned Israel over its actions in Gaza.
Gabby Birenbaum, The Texas Tribune’s Washington correspondent, pointed to one possible source of Greene’s fury: her reported ambitions to run for Georgia governor and Trump’s lack of public support.
“I think part of the subtext here, right, is she wanted to run for higher office in Georgia, and reportedly he discouraged her,” she told CNN Tuesday morning. “I mean, I’m sure that has to sting if you’re her.”
In public, Greene has maintained that she “has always been Trump’s most outspoken ally,” and there is no “break” between her and the president.
Greene announced last Tuesday (July 29) that she will not run for governor next November, citing a desire to focus on her district and a growing frustration with what she called Georgia’s “good ole boy” political system.
“I am humbled and grateful by the massive statewide support that I have to run for Governor, and if I wanted to run we all know I would win,” she wrote in a lengthy X post. “It’s not even debatable.”
Weeks before shutting down rumors surrounding a potential gubernatorial bid, Greene pulled her name out of the race for the U.S. Senate seat up for grabs held by Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff.
The Congresswoman was reportedly under fire from GOP colleagues – including Trump – who were concerned she might win big at the conservative primary but come up short in a general election.
Trump’s political team commissioned a poll that showed Greene losing a potential Senate race in Georgia by double digits, sources told the Wall Street Journal last month. The president reportedly shared the result with Greene to discourage her from running in 2026, the sources added.
