Marjorie Taylor Greene breaks rank with MAGA on key issues, confusing critics and supporters

Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is breaking rank with Republicans on a lot of issues, and nobody really knows what to do with it.

What is going on with Marjorie Taylor Greene?

This is hardly the only recent instance of Greene actually making sense, to put it bluntly. Although it seems like she was only recently ranting about Jewish space lasers and insisting the government controls the weather, now she’s publicly split with Republicans on a number of issues.

In one instance, she actually called what’s gone on in Gaza a “genocide,” and she actually kept stumping for the release of the Epstein files after most Republicans had stood with Trump’s request to let it go.

Greene has also been in support of preserving Affordable Care Act subsidies—something being credited to the fact that a number of her constituents will struggle if it goes away.

Doing what’s best for the people who voted you into office may seem like a common-sense play, but it’s something that’s been far from a given in the Trump years. Republicans have happily voted in ways that will hurt their districts, often as part of a larger culture war, or because they prioritize voting against Democrats above anything else.

People react to Greene’s shift

Some have already started celebrating Greene’s willingness to break from the party line and put common sense first. Slate proclaimed her “Democrats’ new Republican best friend” in an article titled “Marjorie Taylor Greene, Welcome to the Resistance.”

Others have suggested she’s just “finally doing what an elected official should be doing” and “listening to her people,” referring to the district she represents rather than MAGA as a whole.

“I’m glad to see MTG break party lines to fight for the American people. People over party needs to be the mindset of our politicians,” @SovEconomy wrote.

Despite Greene’s sudden focus on tangible policy issues that affect a large swath of Americans rather than the more standard Republican fearmongering about trans people playing sports or undocumented people getting healthcare, there’s a fair amount of cynicism as to why, exactly, she might be doing this.

“Midterms. She wants to be reelected and her district is feeling the effects of the Trump economy,” wrote @8TFour. “Shes grifting sympathy but dont be fooled. If she gets reelected, she will go right back to the bullshit until the next election.”

Not everyone thinks she’ll go right back to her old ways, but that doesn’t mean they believe she’s had a real change of heart and that these are authentic concerns.

“She sees the midterms as a threat, how her party will fall and how everyone is sick of maga hate. [She’s] worried how history will show she so blatantly championed the orange oaf and nazis. Her voters are being hit hard and they’re looking at her. It’s all an act to salvage her income,” @Reis1870749 suggested.

“This doesn’t even remove me because she never blames Trump, JD Vance etc she just says this shit. It’s performative, don’t fall for the play. She campaigned for this now says this when the rebrand opportunity present itself. It’s an act,” wrote @TheBlackCyde.

The argument certainly can be made that it’s still important Greene draws attention to the issues her voters care about and supports policies that make their lives better, even if she is, perhaps, just pretending to prioritize them herself.

“Does it matter why she’s come to her senses?” asked @thetonymichaels. “Isn’t this what we’ve been waiting for? Why are we questioning opposition to Trump inside his inner circle when it’s what we need the most?”

But understanding potential motivation is a good predictor of future actions, and self-serving politicians are never trustworthy in the long term.

“She wants publicity. I’m not buying it. Two Days ago her daughter launched a new religious group. She is also still supporting TPUSA, and spoke at Nick Fuentes rally in 2022,” wrote @IGiveAHop.

“It’s not that a broken clock is right twice a day, but instead that a distorted mirror sometimes shows you what you want to see. Her solutions to these problems involves deporting more immigrants, cutting government services, tax breaks for wealthy, and militarized police force,” argued @GoadGatbsy.

“leftists: mtg is a grifter. also leftists: wow why is she saying this popular opinion that i agree with??? who is this??” tweeted @John_Donut1.

More than one thing can be true at the same time. In this case, Greene is actually spouting sense for once, that she holds a lot of responsibility for the mess the country is currently in, and that there are many, many reasons to still be wary of her in the future.