President Donald Trump on Friday reignited a public feud with former ally Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) at a North Carolina rally, asking supporters, "What the hell happened to her?" and dubbing her "Marjorie Traitor Brown."
Trump explained the nickname by saying "green turns to brown under stress," accused Greene of becoming "a stone cold liberal," and noted she appears "on CNN now all the time." He defended not returning every call by describing the demands on a president's time, saying he deals with "200-and-some-odd" House members, "53 senators," hundreds of foreign contacts and family obligations.
"I said, 'Marjorie, I just can't call you back, I'm sorry,'" Trump said, recounting Greene's complaints that he stopped returning her calls.
He said he was "sorry about that" but called Greene "neurotic," and warned that if he endorsed a primary challenger it "was going to kill her in the polls." "And then they talk about how brave she is," he added. "No, brave would be to stay."
Greene has publicly criticized Trump for declining to support a House discharge petition that would force a vote to require the Department of Justice to release its files on convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — documents that were partially released Friday. After Trump withdrew his endorsement and threatened to back a primary opponent, Greene announced plans to resign from Congress in January.
Earlier this week Greene rebuked Trump for comments suggesting actor-director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele Singer Reiner, had been killed over Reiner's criticism of Trump. Greene called those remarks "absolutely, completely below the office of the president of the United States, classless, and it was just wrong."
In an interview with CNN's Kaitlan Collins, Greene argued that Trump is losing influence within the Republican Party, noting that 13 Republicans joined Democrats last week to overturn an executive order that had expanded the president's authority over federal employees.
The public dispute highlights a widening rift within GOP ranks as party leaders and members weigh loyalty, strategy and accountability heading into the 2025 political cycle.
