Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene made another explosive remark about the Trump administration.
Taylor, who became vocal about the administration after her falling-out with President Donald Trump, made the claim during a tense interview with 60 Minutes host Lesley Stahl that aired Sunday.
She claimed many Republican lawmakers privately mocked Trump even as they publicly supported him.
Highlights
- Marjorie Taylor Greene claimed GOP lawmakers privately mocked Trump despite publicly supporting him after he won the 2024 nomination.
- Greene said many Republicans only showed MAGA loyalty after Trump defeated Nikki Haley in the South Carolina primary.
- Greene broke with Trump over the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, signing a petition that enraged Trump and led to his public attacks.
Marjorie Taylor Greene said Republican lawmakers privately made fun of Trump
Image credits: 60 Minutes/YouTube
Greene, who will leave Congress in January after a dramatic split from the president, said GOP members shifted their tone only after Trump clinched the 2024 Republican nomination.
“I watched many of my colleagues go from making fun of him, making fun of how he talks, making fun of me constantly for supporting him, to when he won the primary in 2024, they all started—excuse my language, Lesley—kissing his a**,” Greene told Stahl.
She said it “would shock people” to hear what some Republicans said about Trump behind closed doors earlier in the year, adding that many of them “decided to put on a MAGA hat for the first time” only after he defeated Nikki Haley in the South Carolina Republican primary last year.
Greene’s remarks came during a confrontational interview in which she and Stahl accused one another of fueling the bitter tone of modern politics.
At one point, Stahl told Greene she had contributed to toxic political culture, “But you contributed to that. You. You, you were out there pounding, insulting people.”
Greene pushed back as she said, “Lesley, you’ve contributed to it as well. You’re accusatory, just like you did just then,” prompting Stahl to reply, “I know you’re accusing me, but I’m smiling.”
Greene smiled in return as she said, “You’re accusing me. But we don’t have to accuse one another.”
Stahl urged Greene “to respond to what you have done in terms of insulting people, yelling at people,” during the exchange. Greene argued that Stahl should be responding to that instead.
“I don’t insult people,” Stahl said, as Greene countered, “You do. The way you question. You’re accusing me right now.”
Greene said GOP members shifted their tone after Trump clinched the 2024 Republican nomination
Image credits: 60 Minutes/YouTube
Greene’s interview aired as rumors of unease inside the MAGA wing continued to circulate. Republicans narrowly held a Tennessee congressional seat in a December special election, a far smaller margin than Trump’s districtwide result in 2024.
Reports have since surfaced that some GOP House members are considering early retirements, following in Greene’s footsteps, as frustrations rise within the party over the White House discounting their ideas and treating them “like garbage.”
Greene herself cited legislative dysfunction as one reason she is stepping down. But her most public break with Trump erupted over the release of documents connected to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
After she demanded transparency about the so-called Epstein files, Trump called her a “traitor” and a “ranting lunatic” on Truth Social and withdrew his endorsement ahead of the 2026 primaries.
Image credits: Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
She discussed this with Stahl.
“We did talk about the Epstein files, and he was extremely angry at me that I had signed the discharge petition to release the files,” Greene said. Greene was one of only four Republicans to sign a discharge petition forcing a vote to release the Epstein files.
“I fully believe that those women deserve everything they’re asking. They’re asking for all of it to come out. They deserve it. And he was furious with me,” Greene said, as Stahl asked her what Trump said.
“He said that it was going to hurt people. I had asked him, ‘These women are the ones that were hurt. They were raped at 14. They were raped at 16.’ I watched them stand in front of the press trembling, their bodies shaking as they were telling their stories, many of them for the first time.”
Image credits: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images
Greene recalled Trump responding to her, “People will get hurt. People will get hurt. I don’t know what that means. I don’t know who they are.”
Greene said the president’s attacks on her triggered a surge of threats. She told Stahl she received a pipe-bomb threat at her home and several death threats aimed at her son.
She said the messages used Trump’s nickname for her, “Marjorie Traitor Greene.” Greene added that Vice President JD Vance promised to “look into it,” but Trump’s personal response to her was “extremely unkind.”
Trump publicly dismissed questions about the threats, saying, “I don’t think anybody cares about her.”
Greene argued her experience demonstrates why other Republicans avoid challenging Trump. “I think they’re terrified to step out of line and get a nasty Truth Social post,” she said.