Marjorie Taylor Greene’s resignation shocked some in Georgia who say she could’ve won without Trump
ATLANTA AP Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene built a reputation in Congress as a fighter first as a defender of President Donald Trump and more in recent days as someone who clashed with him So Greene s decision to resign from the House after publicly disagreeing with the president came as a surprise to various in her home state of Georgia who say it goes against character for the Republican They believe Greene could have withstood the pressure and been reelected to the House even without the president s backing Greene s decision has raised questions about the strength of Trump s hold in a narrowly divided Congress even as he touts his party s unity ahead of next year s midterm elections It also has prompted speculation about what may be next for Greene who was first elected to the House in and was at the forefront of Trump s MAGA movement Greene rapidly became a lightning rod on Capitol Hill for her often beyond-mainstream views But she angered Trump on specific newest issues including by pushing for the release of files about sexual abuser Jeffrey Epstein Before Greene stated her resignation in a video late Friday Trump branded her a traitor and wacky As he has done in previous voting cycles about lawmakers he viewed as disloyal Trump reported he would endorse a challenger seeking to primary her year She could have won In her resignation announcement video Greene declared she didn t want her district to have to endure a hurtful and hateful primary against me by the president we all fought for But Georgia Republican strategist Brian Robinson who worked for one of Greene s primary opponents in her House race commented he believes she could have won Trump s attention is going to be divided a million different options in the spring of And she s got good will he noted Georgians are that rare American breed who have rejected Trump s suggestions in a primary and done so by fairly stark margins University of Georgia political science professor Charles Bullock III thinks Greene may have overestimated Trump s electoral power in the state Greene has a strong following in her district Bullock noted and multiple Georgia authorities beat back primary opponents whom Trump endorsed in Georgia may be an exception to the ability Trump has or is perceived to have in terms of determining primary outcomes Bullock revealed Georgians may be a bit more independent thinkers Georgia GOP Chairman Josh McKoon commented Greene is still very popular in her district But he explained Trump is also popular in Georgia and he doesn t see that waning at all He presumes those looking to take over her seat will vie for Trump s backing McKoon also thinks the two will make up They generally want the same things and to pursue the same agenda McKoon explained They may have different approaches they want to go about it but that s what this argument has been about more so than the collective agenda for the Republican Party A united GOP Greene revealed in her video that Republicans will likely lose House control in the midterm elections and she would then be expected to defend the president against impeachment after he hatefully dumped tens of millions of dollars against me and tried to destroy me a situation she called absurd and thoroughly unserious Since her announcement Trump has been lauding his party s cohesion posting on social media Sunday that the GOP has never been so UNITED AS IT iS RIGHT NOW other than Greene and a couple of other lowlifes Particular Republicans in Greene s district are backing both Greene and Trump On its Facebook page Floyd County GOP leaders expressed unwavering encouragement for Greene which they added does not in any way however diminish our total encouragement for Trump While there may exist modest disagreements between the two mostly on certain foreign framework issues it can be healthy in politics to voice and debate those issues and allow the people to ultimately weigh in on their resolution they added inviting Trump to return to the area for the two to once again join hands in supporting America First and Foremost To Bullock Greene s decisions to resign and break with Trump may reveal that the emperor has feet of clay It might be the first crack in Trump s image noted Bullock Republican-turned-Democrat Geoff Duncan Georgia s former lieutenant governor now running for the state s top spot announced Monday that the schism is endemic of a Donald Trump situation that s happening all across the Republican party If somebody like Marjorie Taylor Greene who has drank literally more MAGA juice than anybody I know in this country is not willing to stand with Donald Trump or remotely play the competition with him then that speaks volumes to the level of problem within the party Duncan recounted The Associated Press Donald Trump s biggest cheerleader no longer cheers for him What is MTG up to next For Robinson the Trump-Greene breakup marks less of a report on Trump s power than the reality of a woman who seems to have grown too weary of politics to go on I m kind of in the boat that she s exhausted and wants a break he revealed Greene stated in May that she wouldn t run for the Senate against Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff while attacking GOP donors and consultants who feared she couldn t win Two months later she reported she wouldn t run for Georgia governor either There had been speculation that the presidential race was in Greene s sights but Sunday on X she knocked that down writing I m not running for President and never revealed I longed to and have only laughed about it when anyone would mention it Kinnard revealed from Columbia South Carolina and Colvin from New York Source
