The Greening of Marjorie Taylor Greene, and What It Means for the Midterm Elections
Former South Carolina Lawmaker Is a Symbol and Case Study of Trump Supporters Who Have Abandoned the MAGA Movement

Majorie Taylor Greene howled out loud during President Biden’s State of the Union address a few years ago. She’s still howling, today, but her message has change and could be a factor in the upcoming midterm elections.

Greene, once one of Donald Trump’s most ardent supporters, is now one of his biggest critics. With her folksy manners and southern twang, she still fits the profile of a MAGA follower.  She speaks their language, and can relate to their frustrations.

But these days, the former South Carolina Congresswoman has become both a symbol and case study of how the MAGA movement is souring on Trump midway through his second term.

In a recent social media post, Greene stood outside a California gas station to slam high gas prices, especially diesel fuel prices. And, she minced no words, as is her style. She put the blame squarely on Trump, and his illegal war in Iran.

The clip has received close to 3 million views on the social media site, “X.”

“All right, $8.49 for diesel in California,” she said in the post. “Let me tell you something. It’s $6.59 in Georgia. I don’t care if it’s Georgia or California. It’s way too high. This is ridiculous.”

She drew an immediate connection to everyday consumers and businesses struggling with rising prices on everything from food to home appliances.

“Look, everything you buy – your food, your supplies, all of your goods – gets delivered by diesel. The war in Iran has got to stop. This is Trump’s fault. This should not be this high. It needs to end. Ridiculous.”

Her views are a soul-shattering turn around from last fall when she was still a Trump acolyte. But her outlook shifted dramatically when she clashed with Trump over release of Jeffrey Epstein sex trafficking files in the government’s possession.

Trump had vowed on the 2024 campaign trail to release all of the files if elected, and he signed the Epstein Files Transparency Act into law once in office. The measure requires the Attorney General to release all Epstein documents and records with minimal redactions and no protections for perpetrators.

But the government is now under seige in courts around the nation, facing allegations of a major Epstein documents coverup, some of which may implicate Trump himself in wrongdoing.

Greene called Trump’s handling of the files one of the “biggest political miscalculation” of his career. She was particularly irked when Trump called her and admitted “his friends would get hurt if the files were released.”

When she refused to remove her name from the discharge petition to force a vote on the Epstein Act, Trump disparaged her, calling her “Marjorie ‘Traitor’ Greene.” She claims his remark sparked death and pipe-bomb threats against her and her children.

She called Trump and anyone fighting the release of the files traitors right back. Trump vowed to unseat her in the GOP primary. Facing sure defeat in her heavily MAGA district, she chose to resign instead, vowing she was “done” with the Republican Party.

Today, a growing number of Trump supporters feel the same way. A measurable and growing segment of former Trump supporters is actively walking away or distancing themselves from the MAGA movement, according to recent polls and demographic studies.

At least one-in-six (roughly 16% to 17%) of previous Trump voters said in a University of Massachusetts Amherst National Poll said they would not vote for him again.

A massive fracturing has developed between “hardline MAGA” loyalists and traditional or moderate Republicans who previously voted for Trump, according to YouGov polling data. The latter are now abandoning the movement, the poll found.

Trump’s support among Republicans overall remains strong; about 78% view him favorably. But that has fallen below his historic favorable rating of 80% or more.

Disaffected Republicans cite the economic strains caused by Trump’s tariffs and the Iran war, disillusionment over handling of the Epstein files and widespead corruption and self-enrichment in the Trump administration and among his family members.

Greene shares all of those views.

Among independents and swing-voters who backed Trump, the erosion of support has been significant, according to data from the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.

While 43% of independents supported him during the campaign, only about a quarter do so today, the center found.  The drop is particularly pronounced among independents without a college degree, long-identified as part of his core base. The decline cuts across race, age and educational level.

The disaffection is showing up in Trump’s polling numbers. The president’s overall approval rating sits between 36% and 39%, while his approval rating on the economy ranges from 28% to 36%, according to the lastest September national polling data.

Political observers are already noting that states and districts that Trump won easily in 2024 — especially in Greene’s home state of Georgia — are now in danger of being flipped.

Becuse of her background and previous politics, Greene has the power — and credibility — to galvanize that voting bloc into a potent force in the upcoming midterm elections.

The 52-year-old construction company owner is actively participating in the election and is using her media presence to drive home how Republicans are facing a “bloodbath” in  House elections and could potentially lose the Senate, as well.

She warned that Trump’s strategy of bullying his allies would serve as a “recipe for electoral disaster” in November.

Keith Girard

Keith Girard has four decades of experience as an award-winning reporter, editor-in-chief, and senior media executive. Keith’s career began in Washington, D.C., where he was a reporter for The Washington Post and a contributing editor for Regardie’s and Washingtonian magazines. He also worked as a writer/producer in CNN’s Washington Bureau and has written non-fiction books on the U.S. Marines in the Gulf War and Donald Trump and two novels, “The Heidelberg Conundrum” and “The Curse of Northam Bay.”