How Trump turned against ally he called 'a future star'

After tension over everything from Epstein to inflation, the US president is cutting ties with Marjorie Taylor Greene

- JOSH MARCUS

Few allies can remain in Donald Trump’s good graces forever. Just ask his former lawyer-turned-critic Michael Cohen; or his first-term vice-president Mike Pence, targeted by members of the January 6 mob who called for his hanging; or the president's on-again, off-again “first buddy” Elon Musk, with whom Trump waged a very public online flamewar this summer over Jeffrey Epstein.

For a while, it seemed like far-right congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene might be the one who bucked the trend, but now it seems her time has come, too.

The president has branded Greene, once one of his fiercest allies in Washington DC, a “traitor.” He said he's open to endorsing a primary challenger against the Georgia Republican.

So where did it all go wrong?

How Trump lost Greene on Epstein

The most immediate cause of the split is the Epstein scandal. Greene is among several Republican members of Congress who have backed an effort to force the government to release more files on the late sex offender, a longtime former friend of the president's who died in prison while awaiting trial on charges that he trafficked young girls. The House will vote on the effort next week.

Worse still, in a Republican party that virtually never openly criticises Trump, Greene accused Trump of a “huge “miscalculation” in his continued dismissal of the scandal and the Republicans pushing for more information.

“Just being very honest with you, it’s something that I don’t understand,” the Maga rep told CBS, arguing that releasing more Epstein information in the hands of federal law enforcement sends a powerful message that the government “will not protect the predators”, even if they are tied to rich and influential people.