Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia on Saturday said she is receiving threats, one day after President Trump announced he is ending his support for his former longtime ally.
Greene has been one of Mr. Trump’s most ardent supporters going back to his first term, but seemingly broke with the president on several key issues over the past few weeks, including the political divide over health care funding, which lead to the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, and the controversy over the release of files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
“Aggressive rhetoric attacking me has historically led to death threats and multiple convictions of men who were radicalized by the same type rhetoric being directed at me right now,” Greene wrote in a lengthy social media post. “This time by the President of the United States. As a woman I take threats from men seriously. I now have a small understanding of the fear and pressure the women, who are victims of Jeffrey Epstein and his cabal, must feel.”
She did not detail the exact nature of the threats. Greene’s home has been the target of multiple swatting calls in the past.
A group of more than two dozen people that identify as Epstein survivors, or family members of survivors, released a joint statement Saturday in support of Greene.
“Thank you for standing up against the intimidation, silencing, and abuse that Epstein survivors have endured for decades,” the statement read. “…You have our full support.”
In an email to CBS News, a spokesperson for the group added that many of them have gotten death threats, adding it’s “part of the price of speaking out.”
In a bombshell Friday night, Mr. Trump took to Truth Social to write that he was “withdrawing” his “support and Endorsement” of Greene, indicating that he might even back an effort to primary her. He also accused her of going “far Left.”
“She has told many people that she is upset that I don’t return her phone calls anymore, but with 219 Congressmen/women, 53 U.S. Senators, 24 Cabinet Members, almost 200 Countries, and an otherwise normal life to lead, I can’t take a ranting Lunatic’s call every day,” the president wrote.
Greene responded on social media by saying “President Trump just attacked me and lied about me. I haven’t called him at all, but I did send these text messages today. Apparently this is what sent him over the edge.”
The two continue to exchange barbs on Saturday, with the president doubling-down, writing that “Marjorie ‘Traitor’ Green is a disgrace to our GREAT REPUBLICAN PARTY!”
Greene was among one of just four House Republicans that joined all Democrats last week in signing a discharge petition to force a House vote that, if also approved by the Senate, would require the Justice Department to release all materials related to Epstein.
“It really makes you wonder what is in those files and who and what country is putting so much pressure on him?” Green wrote Saturday of the president.
The House Oversight Committee on Wednesday released more than 20,000 pages of documents related to Epstein, and some House Democrats said the contents raise questions about what Mr. Trump knew of Epstein’s activities.
In an exclusive interview with “CBS Mornings” Friday, Greene called Mr. Trump’s opposition to the release of the Epstein files a “huge miscalculation,” arguing that the president has not been accused of misconduct in relation to Epstein.
“I truly just stand with the women, and I think they deserve to be the ones that we’re fighting for,” she said.
Greene has also appeared to side with Democratic lawmakers who are calling on Congress to extend the expiring Affordable Care Act tax credits. The standoff over those credits sparked the 43-day government shutdown, which finally ended this week when eight Democratic senators crossed the aisle and reached a deal with their Republican counterparts.
“Now that the [Affordable Care Act] tax credits are expiring, which the Democrats did put in place — and they set the expiration date for this year — I see a financial crisis for Americans,” Greene told “CBS Morning.” “And so on this issue, I don’t see political party lines.”
