President Donald Trump used part of a campaign-style rally Friday night to unload on Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, taking sharp personal shots at the outgoing lawmaker just days before her planned exit from Congress.
Speaking to supporters in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, Trump mocked Greene as a “stone cold liberal” and “highly neurotic,” portraying her departure from Capitol Hill as the culmination of a soured relationship that he said unraveled over something as simple as missed phone calls.
According to Trump, Greene’s break with him had little to do with ideology and everything to do with attention. He told the crowd that Greene became hostile after he failed to return her calls frequently enough, an explanation he delivered with characteristic bluntness and humor.
“What the hell happened to her?” Trump asked the crowd. “She must have been a stone cold liberal. She’s on CNN now all the time. Can you believe it? And it was only because I couldn’t call her back.”
Greene recently announced she would resign from Congress after months of escalating friction with Republican leadership and the White House. In recent months, she has grown increasingly vocal in criticizing fellow Republicans on issues such as affordability, healthcare, and the handling of the Epstein files. Greene said her decision to leave was driven by a desire to avoid what she described as a “hateful primary” challenge backed by Trump.
At the rally, Trump dismissed that framing outright and mocked the idea that Greene’s departure amounted to an act of courage. He argued that the realities of the presidency make constant personal contact impossible, particularly with hundreds of lawmakers seeking attention.
“You know, I have 218, 219, it changes, but we have 200-and-some-odd congressmen and women,” Trump said. “I have 53 senators. I’ve 212 countries. I’ve got a family, I’ve got to talk to my family too.”
Trump told the crowd that Greene took offense when he explained that he simply could not call her back every day. “You can’t call a president every single day,” he said, recounting how Greene allegedly complained publicly when he didn’t return her calls. “I said, ‘Marjorie, I just can’t call you back, I’m sorry.’ And I wouldn’t call her back and she goes onto a rant, ‘He won’t call me back anymore.’”
The president escalated his attacks by branding Greene “highly neurotic” and scoffing at supporters who have praised her decision to leave Congress as brave. Trump said real courage would have meant staying in the race and facing voters.
“Then they talk about how brave she is,” Trump said. “No, brave would be to stay and, you know, it’s one of those things.”
Trump also made clear that Greene should not expect his support going forward. He told the rally crowd that had she remained in Congress, he would have endorsed a primary challenger who would “kill her” at the ballot box, signaling just how far the relationship has deteriorated.
In classic Trump fashion, he capped off his remarks by slapping Greene with a new nickname, calling her “Marjorie Traitor Brown,” joking that “green turns to brown under stress.”
The remarks marked a striking and public rupture between the president and one of his most outspoken onetime allies, underscoring how quickly loyalty can turn into open warfare inside the modern Republican Party.
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