- Marjorie Taylor Greene publicly criticized Trump-era tariffs, warning they harm manufacturers, cost jobs, and squeeze regular Americans amid rising inflation.
- She urged a pragmatic immigration approach—targeted labor solutions over mass deportations—sparking fierce backlash from MAGA hardliners and bipartisan attention.
In a bombshell interview that’s sending shockwaves through the heart of MAGA country, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.)—once the unyielding queen of Trump loyalty—has openly challenged the president’s signature policies on tariffs and immigration.
Speaking bluntly on comedian Tim Dillon’s podcast over the weekend, Greene warned that unchecked tariffs are strangling American manufacturers while blanket deportations could cripple key industries reliant on labor.
Her words: “We have to do something about labor, and that needs to be a smarter plan than just rounding up every single person and deporting them.”
The episode, titled “Marjorie Taylor Greene Emergency Podcast” and uploaded to YouTube on October 11, has racked up over 2 million views in less than 48 hours, fueling a digital civil war among conservatives.
The FrankNez Media Daily Briefing newsletter provides all the news you need to start your day. Sign up here.
From Laura Loomer’s fiery X rants accusing Greene of a secret Democratic makeover to viral clips shared by left-leaning accounts hailing her as the “resistance’s unlikely hero,” the Georgia firebrand’s remarks are dominating headlines and timelines alike.
But for Greene, who built her brand on unapologetic Trumpism, this feels less like rebellion and more like a desperate plea to refocus on the “regular people” who braved rain-soaked rallies to put him back in the Oval Office.
Tariffs
Greene didn’t mince words about the economic fallout from Trump’s aggressive trade barriers, rolled out earlier this year under the banner of “Liberation Day.”
Manufacturers, she said, are drowning in higher costs for raw materials—costs that inevitably trickle down to consumers already pinched by inflation.
“I’m talking to major manufacturing companies, and they are saying we’re having a problem with these tariffs,” Greene told Dillon, her voice laced with frustration.
“Has regular people’s stress come off? No. That should be the focus. It shouldn’t be helping your crypto donors or your AI donors… The focus should be the people that showed up at the rallies, stood there for freaking 18 hours in the rain, in the cold, in 100-degree heat. I don’t think those people are being served.”
Her critique lands amid fresh data underscoring the pain: A September report from the nonpartisan Center for American Progress revealed a net loss of 42,000 manufacturing jobs since the tariffs took effect in April, as supply chain snarls and elevated import prices hit U.S. factories hard.
Economists at the Economic Policy Institute have warned of even broader ripple effects, projecting potential “devastating” hits to sectors like agriculture and construction if the policies persist without tweaks.
Trump’s team has defended the tariffs as a tough-love negotiating tool to force fairer trade deals with China and the EU, pointing to early wins like voluntary export curbs from Beijing.
But Greene’s pushback echoes growing unease from business lobbies and even some GOP governors in Rust Belt states, where factory owners are quietly lobbying for exemptions.
“This isn’t anti-Trump,” one anonymous Midwest manufacturer told me last week.
“It’s pro-survival.”
Immigration
If her tariff takedown raised eyebrows, Greene’s immigration comments lit the fuse.
With the Department of Homeland Security reporting over 2 million deportations or self-deportations in Trump’s first 250 days—many via ramped-up ICE raids that have made headlines from Chicago to Georgia—Greene argued for precision over blanket enforcement.
Drawing from her own experience as owner of Taylor Commercial, a construction firm in Rome, Georgia, she highlighted the labor crunch: Undocumented workers fill critical gaps in building, farming, and hospitality, where American applicants are scarce.
“As a conservative, and as a business owner in the construction industry, and as a realist, I can say we have to do something about labor,” she said.
“And it needs to be a smarter plan than just rounding up every single person and deporting them just like that.”
The backlash was swift and savage.
Trump’s informal adviser Laura Loomer fired off a blistering X thread on Sunday, branding Greene a “shill for Islamists” and predicting she’ll “rebrand as a Democrat” by 2028.
“We need to put AMERICAN workers first. We don’t need to be coddling and protecting big corporations that evade the law to hire cheap illegal aliens,” Loomer posted, her message amplified by thousands of likes from the MAGA die-hards.
On the flip side, Democrats like Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) seized the moment, tweeting agreement on the need to “hash this out over health care” and praising Greene’s “real talk” on costs.
Greene’s stance isn’t a full-throated embrace of open borders—far from it.
She’s long championed a secure border, stronger enforcement against criminals, and ending “unfair competition” from workers dodging U.S. labor laws.
But her call for a “smarter plan” aligns with a pragmatic faction of Republicans, including business-minded senators like Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), who advocate for guest-worker programs to plug holes without amnesty.
Recent ICE operations, including controversial raids in Chicago that separated families and drew cries of overreach, have only amplified the debate.
A MAGA Reckoning or a Voice of Reason?
This isn’t Greene’s first dance with party brass.
Just last week, she broke ranks on the government shutdown, blasting Senate Republicans for letting “America Last Democrats” hold WIC funding for vulnerable moms and kids hostage.
She’s also pushed for full Epstein file disclosures, signing a rare bipartisan discharge petition alongside House Democrats.
And in September, she sparred with Trump over Chinese student visas, calling them a national security “disgrace.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) tried to smooth things over, telling reporters he’d assured her the GOP is “working around the clock” on healthcare costs.
But whispers from the White House suggest Trump’s growing exasperation: He’s reportedly phoned senior Republicans asking, “What’s going on with Marjorie?”
For all the drama, Greene’s defenders—and there are still plenty—see her as the ultimate America First warrior: a businesswoman who actually talks to constituents, not just donors.
“She’s saying what real Americans think and feel,” she posted on X last month about another firebrand conservative, a nod to her own unfiltered style.
Dillon, ever the provocateur, even floated her as “our next president” during the chat, prompting a wide-eyed Greene to mouth, “Oh my gosh.”
As the dust settles, Greene’s intervention could force a pivotal pivot in Trump’s second term.
Also Read: Republicans Face Growing Backlash as Voters Blame Them for Govt. Shutdown
Follow us on X: @NezMediaCompany
