Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene clash over Epstein files, exposing MAGA rift

A public and highly personal dispute has erupted between President Donald Trump and Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene over efforts to release sealed documents related to Jeffrey Epstein, the late financier and convicted sex offender.

Greene, a longtime ally of Trump and a prominent figure in the Republican Party’s right wing, accused the president of attempting to block a bipartisan push in the House to force the release of the Epstein files.

Trump, in turn, launched a series of online attacks, withdrawing his endorsement of Greene and suggesting support for a primary challenger in her Georgia district.

On Saturday, Trump posted on TruthSocial calling Greene a “traitor” and a “lightweight,” declaring, “Marjorie 'Traitor' Greene betrayed the entire Republican Party when she turned Left.” He mockingly referred to her as “Marjorie Taylor Brown” and suggested her political career was in decline.

The feud stems from Greene’s support for a discharge petition to compel the release of Epstein-related files. She argued that transparency was essential, and questioned why the White House was resisting the effort. “It’s astonishing really how hard he’s fighting to stop the Epstein files from coming out,” Greene wrote on X. “And it truly speaks for itself.”

Greene further claimed that Trump was trying to “make an example” of her to discourage other Republicans from backing the release. “I never thought that fighting to release the Epstein files, defending women who were victims of rape, and fighting to expose the web of rich powerful elites would have caused this,” she said.

Trump, meanwhile, has accused Greene and fellow conservative Rep. Thomas Massie of playing into Democratic hands. He alleged that Democrats are using the Epstein case to distract from their recent political setbacks, including the government funding negotiations. “All I see 'Wacky' Marjorie do is COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN,” he posted.

The dispute spilled into national television, where Greene told CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday (16 Nov) that Trump was “extremely wrong” for attacking her character.

She said that women who have spoken with her about the Epstein case did not accuse Trump of wrongdoing. “Quite a few of them even told me they voted for him,” she said. “And those are the women I would like to see in the Oval Office with support.”

She added, “I have no idea what's in the files. I can't even guess. But that is the question everyone is asking – why fight this so hard?”

Massie has also challenged the White House’s stance, accusing Trump of using his call for a Department of Justice investigation into Epstein’s ties with former President Bill Clinton and others as a “smokescreen” to delay the release of the documents.

“This vote, the record of this vote will last longer than Donald Trump's presidency,” Massie warned on ABC’s This Week, cautioning that siding against victims could become a lasting political liability.

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson has acknowledged that Democrats are likely to reach the 218-vote threshold needed for the petition to succeed.

Although Johnson has expressed support for transparency, he appeared to distance the administration from the discharge petition, saying the Oversight Committee may release more documents through other channels.

“President Trump has clean hands. He's not worried about it,” Johnson told Fox News Sunday. “He has nothing to do with this.”

The intra-party dispute highlights emerging fault lines within the MAGA movement. While Greene has historically aligned closely with Trump, her recent comments reflect a growing rift.

She also criticised Trump’s foreign policy priorities, saying in a recent NBC News interview, “No one cares about the never-ending amount of foreign leaders coming to the White House every single week.”

Trump responded aboard Air Force One, telling reporters, “She is a very different figure. Something happened to her over the last month or two.” He implied that her constituents would not support her new direction.

Observers say this episode could reshape loyalty dynamics within the Republican Party. Axios noted that while Trump remains the dominant figure in the MAGA movement, “America Firsters like [Greene] now think MAGA indulges Trump too much on foreign engagement, especially Israel.”

With the House scheduled to vote on the release of the Epstein documents on Tuesday, Republicans face a critical decision that may define both their political futures and the broader party identity.