GOP constituents still have affection for Greene

President Trump says Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is a traitor.

- BY BILL BARROW AND EMILIE MEGNIEN

But for Jackie Harling, who chairs the local Republican Party in Greene’s northwestern corner of Georgia, she’s still “mama bear.”“Every thought that we had in our minds, she seemed to be very good at verbalizing,” Harling said.

Saying things that no one else would say may be Greene’s most durable legacy as the Republican steps down on Monday, resigning halfway through her third term in Congress.

First, it was her embrace of conspiracy theories and incendiary rhetoric, turning her into a national symbol of a political culture without guardrails. Then it was her willingness to criticize Trump, a schism that made her position in Washington untenable.

In interviews in Greene's district, constituents described her over and over as a “fighter.” For Republicans such as Harling, that was enough.

“We got a lot of satisfaction,” Harling said. “She was our voice.”

It was less satisfying for an independent such as Heath Patterson, who struggled to think of ways that Greene’s fame and notoriety made a difference for her district during her time in the U.S. Capitol.

“I don't know of anything that she did do here except, certainly, got her voice heard. But where did we, how did we benefit from that?” he said. “I don't think we did.”

From MAGA warrior to exile

Greene began clashing with Trump last year, criticizing his focus on foreign policy and his reluctance to release documents involving the Jeffrey Epstein case. The president eventually had enough, saying he would support a primary challenge against her. Greene announced a week later that she would resign.

She has kept up the criticism since then, including over Trump's decision to strike Venezuela.