Trump-Greene Feud Threatens Unity Within MAGA Movement as Epstein Records Controversy Deepens

Trump has labeled Greene a "traitor" and withdrawn his endorsement of her.

In LaFayette, Georgia, a nearly full meeting hall witnessed Jackie Harling, the local party chair, address the growing tension between Donald Trump and Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene. "We love President Trump and we love our congresswoman," she stated calmly, acknowledging the "trouble brewing" between the two prominent figures.

The necessity of placing this conflict on the agenda highlights how disruptive the feud has become for Republicans. This rift has sparked concerns about potential fractures within Trump's Make America Great Again movement, just a year before crucial midterm elections where Democrats hope to regain congressional control.

During the meeting, attendees expressed worries about the deepening division, which intensified over the weekend regarding Greene's persistent criticism of Trump's handling of investigative records related to Jeffrey Epstein, his former friend and convicted sex offender.

Once among the MAGA movement's most vocal supporters, Greene hasn't hesitated to criticize her own party or directly challenge Trump on various issues including the Epstein scandal, foreign policy, healthcare costs, and the government shutdown that affected food aid benefits and led to thousands of furloughed government workers.

While most MAGA figures remain loyal to Trump, this clash reveals growing tensions within the movement. A vocal segment has become disillusioned with Trump over his initial reluctance to release more Epstein records and his unwavering support for Israel.

Reuters interviewed 21 Republican-leaning voters in Greene's district, all supporting full disclosure of Epstein materials. Most were supporters of both Trump and Greene who indicated they would continue backing both, dismissing Trump's attacks as irrelevant to their voting intentions.

Neither the White House nor Greene's office responded to comment requests.

At Tuesday's meeting, a woman identifying herself only as Felicia expressed concern that the feud could become an expensive distraction when Republicans should be focusing on Americans' growing affordability concerns. She warned this lack of focus "was going to be a problem for Republicans," especially following recent Democratic victories in state and local elections driven partly by voters' concerns about rising prices.

Jim Tully, party chairman for Greene's district, spoke passionately for nearly 20 minutes, emphasizing the importance of supporting Greene. "Two powerful people with powerful desire and powerful voices have found a place to clash," he remarked. "It hurts my heart to watch our congresswoman knowing firsthand how hard she works for us all the time."

Greene, who has represented her primarily blue-collar Georgia region since 2021, quickly gained recognition for her outspokenness. Outside the Capitol on Tuesday, surrounded by several of Epstein's victims, Greene stated that the president's handling of the Epstein issue "has been one of the most destructive things to MAGA," adding that it had "ripped MAGA apart."

According to Kerwin Swint, a political science professor at Kennesaw State University in Georgia, this rare break between a MAGA loyalist and Trump shouldn't be interpreted as Trump losing his grip on the party. "Even in 2026 and 2028 I think they're still going to want to be aligned with the Donald Trump wing of the party," he told Reuters.

Kasey Carpenter, a state lawmaker in Greene's district, suggested that Greene's break with Trump partly reflects her constituents' dissatisfaction with some of the president's policies. "I think that people are realising it's okay to decouple from the president on issues," Carpenter noted.

Dennis Shoaf, a Republican ally of Greene, mentioned that some Christian conservative Republicans might not vote for her next year due to her criticism of Israel's war in Gaza and U.S. aid to the country—a position at odds with Trump and much of the Republican Party.

However, even if Trump supports a primary challenger, Shoaf believes Greene, who won re-election with over 64% of the vote in 2024, would likely prevail. He noted that Georgia's Republican Governor Brian Kemp successfully defeated a Trump-backed primary opponent in 2022.

Four Republicans have filed to run against Greene in the primary, including Jeff Criswell, a retired business owner who believes Greene is vulnerable due to her stance on Israel and Trump's withdrawal of support. "If she thinks her brand is bigger than Trump in this district, she's nuts," Criswell told Reuters.

Nevertheless, many Republicans and even some Democrats interviewed expressed satisfaction seeing Greene establish independent positions on issues. They appreciated her Sunday apology on CNN for her role in what she described as "toxic politics."

Cooper Jacks, a 19-year-old member of the Walker County Republican leadership team and strong Trump supporter, said Greene's push for disclosing all Epstein-related records secured his support for her.

The Epstein controversy has negatively impacted Trump's public approval, which reached its lowest point this year in a Reuters/Ipsos poll. Only 44% of Republicans thought Trump was handling the situation well, while 70% of Americans overall believed the government was concealing information about people involved in Epstein's sex crimes.

On Wednesday, the Justice Department announced it would release the Epstein files within 30 days, though the completeness of this disclosure remains uncertain, as the agency may need to withhold material relevant to politically sensitive investigations.

Regardless of how the disclosure proceeds, this issue and the internal conflict over it will likely continue to challenge the party into next year.

Harling concluded Tuesday's meeting by urging everyone to keep both Trump and Greene in their prayers. "The world can be a really hard place, and they have a lot of responsibilities," she said. "But they definitely don't need us to stop praying for them, because I think it's all gonna be okay."