Marjorie Taylor Greene — once a prominent Trump ally — has publicly criticized Donald Trump for calling the Jeffrey Epstein scandal a "hoax," calling it the biggest political miscalculation of his career. Prior to resigning, she helped lead a bipartisan push that forced the release of roughly six million Justice Department documents related to Epstein. Greene says her relationship with Trump deteriorated after he declined to back a potential gubernatorial bid and that tensions escalated in the months before her resignation, highlighting growing rifts among former allies.
Marjorie Taylor Greene Blasts Trump’s ‘Biggest Miscalculation’ Over Epstein ‘Hoax’ Claim
Trump was forced last year to mandate the release of files on the crimes of his former friend. / Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
Marjorie Taylor Greene, once one of Donald Trump’s most vocal allies on Capitol Hill, has publicly criticized the former president for calling the Jeffrey Epstein controversy a "hoax," calling that label the "biggest political miscalculation" of his career.
Speaking to podcaster Owen Shroyer on The Owen Report, Greene said Trump "fought the hardest to stop these files from being released" and that branding the matter a hoax created a major political problem for him.
The scandal has seen Trump go from lobbying for transparency to deriding the files as a Democratic
Late last year, before she resigned from the House, the Georgia congresswoman helped lead a bipartisan effort that pressed Trump to sign legislation requiring the Justice Department to release roughly six million documents related to Epstein’s crimes. The move came as renewed scrutiny focused on Trump’s previous ties to the disgraced financier, who died in a Manhattan jail cell in 2019 while awaiting sex-trafficking charges.
"It became a massive political problem—biggest political miscalculation in Donald Trump’s career was calling this a hoax," Greene told Shroyer.
Greene had long been a staunch Trump loyalist but began drifting from the MAGA fold as she criticized the administration on issues from strikes against Iran to inaction on expiring health-care subsidies for low-income families. Reports say the relationship frayed further after Trump declined to endorse a potential gubernatorial bid in her home state last summer.
Greene was a regular at Trump campaign rallies in 2024. / ELIJAH NOUVELAGE / AFP via Getty Images
She announced her resignation in November, which took effect in January, and has since accused the president of fostering threats against her and her son. Trump, for his part, called her "Marjorie 'Traitor' Greene" on Truth Social; Greene says that after sharing a death threat she had received, Trump told her she had only herself to blame.
In the interview, Greene described additional tense exchanges with Trump in the weeks before her departure, including a warning he reportedly gave that "my friends are going to get hurt." She also reflected on how longtime Trump supporters struggle to reconcile deep loyalty with actions they perceive as betrayals.
Why It Matters
Greene’s public break and the bipartisan push to release the Epstein files underscore widening fractures among former Trump allies as the Epstein revelations continue to cast a long shadow over the former president’s political standing.
Help us improve.
