In a high-profile interview, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., criticized President Donald Trump, accusing her former political ally turned foe of instigating death threats against her and her son and failing to live up to his campaign promise to focus on improving the lives of Americans.
“For an America First president, the top priority should have been domestic policy, but it's not. And so, of course, I was critical because those were my campaign promises,” Greene said in an interview that aired Sunday. CBS News' 60 Minutes. “Once we get everything right here, then okay, let's talk to the rest of the world.”
Later, Lesley Stahl of CBS News asked Greene, “Are you a MAGA?”
“I am America first…MAGA is President Trump's phrase. That’s his politics,” Greene said, referring to Trump’s signature motto: “Make America Great Again.” “I call myself America First.”
Other Republicans, both on Capitol Hill and beyond, expressed disappointment that Trump and the Republican Party are not doing enough to address Americans' concerns about affordability. But in recent days, Trump has pointed to falling gas prices and released executive order directing his administration to investigate anti-competitive behavior this could impact food supply chains.
“In a short time, President Trump has already delivered on many of the promises he was elected to deliver. He has secured the border; dealt with Biden's inflation crisis; lowered drug prices; eliminated taxes on tips, overtime and Social Security; lowered inflation; deported illegal immigrants; implemented important reforms to put American workers first; and much more,” White House press secretary Abigail Jackson said in a statement Sunday night.
“As the architect of the MAGA movement, President Trump will always put America first. He works hard every single day to continue to deliver on the many promises he has made and will continue to deliver on them,” she said.
Greene spoke to 60 Minutes on the heels of her shocking announcement last month that she resign in Januarya full year before the end of her term. Her decision came after she broke with Trump and other party leaders and signed a bipartisan agreement. cancel the petition that led to a successful vote in the House of Representatives to push for the release of government files on Jeffrey Epstein.
Trump criticized Greene, a conservative hardliner who was at one point one of his most vocal defenders on Capitol Hill, calling him “Marjorie the Traitor Greene.” When Greene complained that she was receiving death threats because of Trump, he brushed off her concerns: “I don't think her life is in danger… I don't think anyone cares about her.”
In the 60 Minutes interview, Greene said that while Trump was fighting the release of Epstein's files and calling her a traitor, he was meeting with controversial foreign leaders and New York City Mayor-elect Zoran Mamdani.
“He did this during the same period of time that President Trump brought in an al-Qaeda leader who was wanted by the US government, who is now the president of Syria. Then, within a week, he brought in Crown Prince MBS, who killed an American journalist,” Greene said, referring to Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. “And then he invited the newly elected mayor of New York, a democratic socialist. It was during this period that he called me a traitor.”
When Stahl asked if Trump had run her out of town, Greene replied, “No, not at all… I won't be anyone's battered wife… and I won't let the system abuse me anymore.”
Greene described the phone call during which Trump tried to convince her to give up stop solicitation efforts involving Epstein files.
“We talked about the Epstein files, and he was very angry with me that I signed a resignation letter to release the files,” she told Stahl. “I fully believe these women deserve everything they're asking for. They're asking for this to come out; they deserve it. And he was furious with me… He said it would hurt people.”
In the end, Greene and three other House Republicans did not bow to Trump's pressure. Epstein's bill was tabled, and all but one House member voted to have Trump's Justice Department release the files; The Senate passed the bill unanimously, and Trump quietly signed it.
But because of Trump's anger, Greene said she and her son received numerous threats. She said she sent Trump messages she received threatening her son's life and called Trump's response “extremely unkind.”
She spoke in detail about their exchange in thread on X Earlier on Sunday, he said Trump “responded with harsh accusatory responses and zero sympathy.”
“I also sent these threats [FBI] Directed by Kash Patel and luckily he responded 'about this' and I forwarded these threats to VP JD Vance who quickly responded with kindness and empathy,” Greene wrote on X.
In an interview with 60 Minutes, Greene rejected suggestions that her public break with Trump is because she wants to run for president in 2028.
“I have no plans, no desire to run for president. I would hate the Senate. I'm not running for governor,” Greene said. “But, Leslie, no matter how many times I say it, I will talk to people face to face, and I will say it to their face, and they will not believe me.”
“And they were like, 'Oh yeah, sure.' Wink, wink. And I’m like, I don’t know how to clear this up.”
