A dramatic confrontation on CNN on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, saw former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, once among President Donald Trump’s most vocal defenders, call him a “traitor” and claim he told her directly that he opposed releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files because his friends could be implicated.
The 52-year-old former Georgia congresswoman delivered the explosive accusation during an interview with anchor Kaitlan Collins, leaving the host visibly stunned by the escalation in rhetoric from someone who spent years as one of Trump’s most reliable allies on Capitol Hill.
When Collins asked whether Greene considered Trump himself a traitor for opposing the Epstein file release, Greene didn’t hesitate. “I’m saying exactly that,” she said, revealing that the president had told her in a phone conversation that his friends would get hurt if the files came out.
Collins, clearly taken aback, told Greene it was “pretty remarkable” to hear her accuse a sitting president of being a traitor. Greene fired back that what was truly remarkable was that the man who promised to drain the swamp had fought to keep the Epstein files buried — then turned around and called her the traitor.
From MAGA Champion to Trump Critic
For years, Greene was regarded as one of Trump’s most steadfast supporters in Congress. She championed his Make America Great Again (MAGA) agenda, defended him through both presidential campaigns, amplified his claims that the 2020 election had been stolen, and worked in lockstep with pro-Trump lawmakers. Trump, in turn, repeatedly praised her, endorsed her congressional campaigns, and once described her as a “future Republican star.”
The relationship began to unravel after Trump returned to the White House for his second term in January 2025. As a longtime advocate for full transparency on the Epstein case, Greene had echoed calls from across the MAGA movement to release the files on the late pedophile. Trump fueled those expectations during the 2024 campaign, signaling he would back further disclosures if elected.
When the administration later concluded that no additional Epstein files would be released, many of Trump’s supporters accused him of abandoning a core campaign promise. Greene became one of the loudest Republican critics, warning that there could be “no going back” on commitments made to the base.
The Discharge Petition and Legislative Showdown
The confrontation came to a head in 2025, when Greene and three other Republicans joined Democrats in backing a discharge petition that forced a House vote on the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The four Republicans broke with party leadership and pushed the measure over the threshold needed to advance. Reps. Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna joined Greene at a press conference ahead of the vote.
Cornered by the momentum, Trump endorsed releasing the records, telling House Republicans they should support publication because they had “nothing to hide.” GOP resistance collapsed almost overnight. The bill passed with overwhelming bipartisan support and was signed into law, requiring the Justice Department to release its remaining Epstein-related records within 30 days. More than three million documents have since been made public.
Trump stripped Greene of his support, coined a new nickname for her — “Marjorie ‘Traitor’ Brown” — and threatened a primary challenge. Greene said the fallout brought a wave of death threats from Trump supporters.
Breaking Point and Resignation
On November 21, 2025, Greene announced she was resigning from Congress in early January 2026, ending five turbulent years in the House. In a December 9, 2025, interview with PBS anchor Amna Nawaz from her Capitol Hill office, Greene confirmed she had also broken with Trump on extending expiring health care subsidies, siding with Democrats on cost-of-living concerns during the government shutdown.
“Affordability or the lack of ability of Americans to afford the cost of living is not a Democrat hoax,” Greene told Nawaz, pushing back on Trump’s framing of the issue.
In April 2026, Greene called for Trump’s removal from office under the 25th Amendment.
During the Wednesday appearance, Greene said any lawmaker who opposed the release of the Epstein files should be considered a “traitor” who wants to cover up for pedophiles and rapists.
Greene also told Collins that she had met with Epstein survivors several times. According to Greene, the survivors told her Trump had “done nothing wrong,” and their attorney said the president was the only one who had helped them years earlier with civil lawsuits and prosecutions tied to Epstein. The survivors have compiled a list of perpetrators but have not handed it to Greene; she said she would be willing to read the names on the House floor before leaving office if they provided it.
White House Fires Back
The administration responded with characteristic venom. White House spokesman Davis Ingle dismissed Greene as “a quitter who is pathetically trying to stay relevant by going on liberal media shows to bash President Trump,” telling The Daily Beast that “Trump Derangement Syndrome has rotted former Congresswoman Greene’s peanut-sized brain.”
