Former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene chronicled her political journey from a diehard ally of the president to someone he labeled a traitor, saying “MAGA is dead” at The Texas Tribune Festival Thursday.

Greene, who described herself as “politically homeless” in the wake of her experience, resigned her House seat earlier this year after a series of public spats with the president that escalated into death threats against her family.

Despite her break from Trump, Greene called herself a believer in the America First movement that Trump coined — a series of policy preferences that she defined as a smaller coalition than the broader Make America Great Again group that backs the president. The larger MAGA movement, which she was once one of the most recognizable members, is now a “cult,” she said.

“When you vote for someone, not only are you supporting them, but you’re holding them accountable,” Greene said. “And if they can’t be truthful and hold [Trump] accountable to his campaign promises that affect the entire country, then they’re liars, and they’re hypocrites and they’re in a cult.”

Greene, a Georgia Republican, burst onto the political scene after winning her Northern Georgia House district in 2020 as a staunchly pro-Trump candidate who drew attention — and ire — for a series of controversial comments.

Early in her career, Greene attracted headlines for slurring then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, sharing a meme of herself with an assault rifle in front of photos of Democratic congresswomen and filing articles of impeachment against then-President Joe Biden on the second day of his presidency. About a month into her House tenure, all Democrats and eleven Republicans banded together and stripped her of committee assignments over her conduct.

Greene also displayed a history of embracing conspiracy theories, from claiming that a wealthy Jewish family was behind a California wildfire to berating a Parkland school shooting survivor and claiming the shooting was a false flag operation to initially believing, before disavowing, the QAnon theory that Trump was secretly fighting an underground cabal of Satan-worshipping sex traffickers in the government.

But after establishing herself as one of Trump’s most ardent defenders, Greene began to turn on the president during his second term. The public rift between them began over cryptocurrency legislation and became more heated over the Epstein files, after Greene pushed for the president to release full documentation about the notorious sex trafficker even as Trump resisted doing so. 

Greene also became more outspoken on policy, challenging her fellow Republicans in 2025 over the expiration of enhanced subsidies for Affordable Care Act enrollees over the party’s lack of a plan to address looming healthcare insurance premium spikes.

After years as allies, Trump changed his tune in the fall of 2025, calling the congresswoman Marjorie “Traitor” Greene. As their feud escalated, Greene announced her resignation from Congress, leaving the lower chamber in early 2026.

At the festival, Greene recalled a series of fights she had with the president, including being yelled at in the Oval Office and culminating in Trump texting her that she “deserved it” after her son received a death threat. 

Greene said she entered Washington naive and left feeling that the political system is fundamentally broken. Many Republicans, she said, can’t stand Trump privately but are unwilling to go against him given that many owe their careers to his endorsement.

“They’re terrified of that Truth Social post,” she said. “Absolutely terrified of it. There’s a wrath that comes with it.”

Since leaving Congress, Greene has had discussions with other conservatives who have broken with Trump — including former Fox News host Tucker Carlson and Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie — but said she doesn’t see any credible 2028 candidates among those she knows considering running for president.

Greene also discussed foreign policy, noting that one of Trump’s stances that initially appealed to her was his willingness to call out former President George W. Bush’s decision to pursue war in Iraq and the toll of foreign wars. Trump’s decision to attack Iran, she said, was a betrayal of the America First movement, and she believes his presidency will be judged on his moves in the Middle East.

“He’s betrayed his campaign promises,” Greene said. “Will he make a lasting peace deal or will he make a peace deal that he goes back on probably after the midterms?”

Despite her harsh criticisms for the president, the party and the movement she once belonged to, Greene emphasized that she’s no liberal.

“Just because I’m 100% against what Donald Trump is doing, and you hear me criticize the president because he changed, and Republicans have just fallen in line with him, that doesn’t mean that all of a sudden I’m in line with Democrat policies,” she said. “I’m not.”