In Departure Interview, Greene Describes ‘Shocking’ Private Exchange With Trump Amid Threats

WASHINGTON — In her first extended interview since announcing she will leave Congress, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene offered a stark and unusually candid portrait of her deteriorating relationship with former President Donald J. Trump, describing a private exchange in which she confronted him about death threats she says were triggered by his attacks on her.

Speaking with CNN, Ms. Greene — once one of Mr. Trump’s most vocal and loyal allies — said she was “shocked” by the former president’s reaction after she sent him what she described as direct threats against her family, including what authorities treated as a pipe bomb threat and messages targeting her son.

“I won’t repeat what he said,” she told the network, “but it was extremely unkind. No sympathy, no care.”

The comments represent the most scorching criticism Ms. Greene has offered publicly about the man she spent years defending, fundraising for and personally promoting at rallies across the country. They also underscore a deeper fracturing inside the Republican Party, where once-unquestioned loyalty to Mr. Trump has begun to show signs of strain as his second term unfolds under growing political and legal turmoil.

Ms. Greene said the threats intensified after Mr. Trump labeled her a “traitor” earlier this year and accused her of abandoning the “MAGA” movement. She rejected that premise, arguing that many of her legislative proposals mirror policies from Mr. Trump’s own 2024 campaign or his executive orders — an effort, she said, to codify his agenda into law.

Yet she expressed concern that the former president, surrounded by advisers she believes have not kept him informed, is now driven less by governing priorities than by political combat. “It has to be a hard place for someone who is constantly so hateful,” she told CNN. “That’s poor leadership from a president.”

For a figure long associated with inflammatory rhetoric, Ms. Greene struck an atypically restrained tone, repeatedly describing herself as “sad” and “concerned” rather than angry. Still, she acknowledged that Mr. Trump’s language had helped create a climate she now fears. “If he would do this to me,” she said, “he would do that to any of us.”

Her comments also highlighted the contradictions of her own political trajectory. While condemning the “toxic politics” that she said have “ripped our country apart,” she continued to assert unfounded claims of a “weaponized” Justice Department under President Biden — allegations rejected by legal experts and contradicted by Mr. Trump’s own open efforts to target political opponents.

Even so, her willingness to name Mr. Trump as a central driver of that toxicity marks a significant departure from the unwavering deference she has shown him for years. “He’s a leader in it,” she said of the current political climate. “He has the most responsibility.”

Whether Ms. Greene’s break with Mr. Trump represents a lasting shift or a momentary rupture remains unclear. But her remarks appeared calibrated to signal a broader warning to the Republican base she once reliably mobilized: that the man at the top of the party, in her view, is willing to discard even his most devoted allies when they fall out of step.

“It’s unfortunate for the entire country,” she said. “And a terrible message to send.”