What, I asked, would it take for Trump’s supporters to start asking Trump the questions they would ask anyone else under the same circumstances: Did he take part in Epstein’s crimes—and, if not, what did he know about them?
Greene suddenly turned rational. The web of yarn untangled. She noted that she met with several of Epstein’s victims in September, as part of a bipartisan group, to hear their stories. Democrats questioned the victims about their interactions with Trump. “I sat in a closed-door, private meeting with them, with no press, and they over and over said that Donald Trump never did anything wrong,” she stated.
When it came to why the administration and Republican leadership had worked to keep further revelations on Epstein secret, Greene was at a loss. “I can’t comprehend it. I honestly can’t,” she said. “That’s why I’m committed to keeping my name on the discharge petition, even though it goes against my own Speaker and the White House. I’m working on the Oversight Committee investigation. I even told the women, I’ll read your list on the House floor because I have speech and debate protection. They do not have any protection legally. So I’m going to full lengths, even though it’s not always in my favor, to be committed to transparency.”
Inside Greene’s office, three newspapers are displayed: The Washington Post, The Washington Times, and The Epoch Times. “Live, Laugh, Love”–style plaques occupy nearly every surface; one sits on a desk in the room where we met, beside a collection of MAGA hats. Greene swigged from a large can of Monster Energy as she insisted, over the course of 45 minutes, that she hadn’t changed.
“Everyone thinks that I have suddenly changed, and I haven’t,” she said. “I’m doubling down on how much I love this country and its people. I’m radically doubling down, to the point where it doesn’t matter who I disagree with. I’m disagreeing with my own side.” The only difference now, she said, is that she’s earned a strange new respect in the mainstream. CNN invited her on the network for the first time in her career. She appeared on Bill Maher’s Real Time, with the host calling her “the one Republican who’s dissenting.” She only did The View because she had never been invited on before. Joy Behar joked, “You’re taking my job.” She said she remains blacklisted from Fox News over her criticisms of the network, adding that she no longer watches much. “I watch Fox News the least,” she said. (A Fox spokesperson disputed this, noting Greene was last on Fox News in June and February before that). Greene said she prefers to watch CNN, NBC, CNBC, the BBC, and local news.
