Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), once among President Donald Trump’s most reliable allies on Capitol Hill, is now openly explaining why that alliance collapsed — and why she has chosen to retire from Congress.
In a wide-ranging New York Times profile published Monday, Greene told reporter Robert Draper that her break with Trump was rooted less in ideology than in conscience, faith, and what she described as a growing discomfort with the political culture she helped sustain during the height of the MAGA movement.
Greene said she now views her earlier years in Washington as marked by what she called a “toxic” environment — one she came to believe conflicted with her Christian faith.
“I was naïve,” Greene said, reflecting on her time as a Trump loyalist. “Our side has been trained by Donald Trump to never apologize and to never admit when you’re wrong. You just keep pummeling your enemies, no matter what. And as a Christian, I don’t believe in doing that.”
A Turning Point After Charlie Kirk’s Death
Greene pointed to the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk as a pivotal moment in her personal reckoning. Watching Kirk’s memorial service, she said she was deeply moved by the grace shown by Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk — particularly in contrast to remarks Trump made shortly thereafter.
At a public appearance, Trump said that unlike Kirk, he chooses to “hate” his political opponents.
“It just shows where his heart is,” Greene later texted Draper. “And that’s the difference, with her having a sincere Christian faith, and proves that he does not have any faith.”
Greene said the moment forced her to confront the confrontational persona she believes Trump normalized — and that she herself had embraced.
“After Charlie died,” she said, “I realized that I’m part of this toxic culture. I really started looking at my faith. I wanted to be more like Christ.”
Epstein Files and the Final Rupture
From Greene’s perspective, however, the decisive break with Trump came over her insistence on releasing investigative material related to Jeffrey Epstein.
“It was Epstein. Epstein was everything,” she told the Times.
Greene argued that the files symbolized a deeper problem she believes cuts across party lines: elite impunity.
“Rich, powerful elites doing horrible things and getting away with it,” she said. “And the women are the victims.”
Her push angered Trump and alienated fellow Republicans, Greene said, leading the president to publicly brand her a “traitor” — a label that, she claimed, had real-world consequences.
“Am I going to get murdered, or one of my kids, because he’s calling me a traitor?” Greene recalled asking herself after receiving a pipe bomb threat and an anonymous email targeting her son.
Retirement From Congress — Not From Her Beliefs
Shortly after these events, Greene announced she would not seek reelection, effectively ending her time in Congress. While critics have framed her departure as ideological abandonment, Greene insists otherwise.
“Everyone’s like, ‘She’s changed,’” she said. “I haven’t changed my views. But I’ve matured. I’ve developed depth.”
She described her decision to leave Washington as the result of hard lessons learned — not a rejection of conservative principles or America First priorities.
“I’ve learned Washington, and I’ve come to understand the brokenness of the place,” Greene said. “If none of us is learning lessons here and we can’t evolve and mature with our lessons, then what kind of people are we?”
