MTG reveals why she's defying Trump on Gaza

Marjorie Taylor Greene has not been afraid to speak her mind to her millions of followers online, even if it means going against Republican leadership. These days, she frequently airs her populist opinions and conservative hot takes online and, like Trump, takes the feedback it generates into consideration. Her posts can, at times, cut against what others in the GOP are saying.

MTG has also been known for going after lawmakers on her side of the aisle. But in doing so she's carved out a unique position as a top female voice in the party. 'When people, innocent people, are systematically being killed for who they are, is that not the definition of genocide?' Greene told the Daily Mail of the Israel-Gaza war. 'I don't know why I'm the only Republican saying it.'

Greene caught headlines this week for being the first Republican lawmaker to liken the conflict to a genocide. The term carries heavy diplomatic implications. President Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson have shied away from using the language to describe the war. They also have close ties to the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The conflict has killed more than 1,100 Israelis and over 60,000 Palestinians, according to local authorities.

As Israel has pushed deeper into Gaza , a hunger crisis has broken out. Dozens, including many children, have died of malnutrition. In a phone call with the Daily Mail Greene expressed surprise that her conservative colleagues were not speaking out more. 'So many Republicans believe in supporting Israel in any kind of war they want to wage and I don't agree with that.'

'I don't I don't think that's our biblical mandate to fund, pay for support and participate, and it's not just offense, it's murder of innocent people,' she told the Daily Mail. 'I can say I support Israel and I don't want to see Jewish people killed because they're Jewish.' 'But I can also say the same thing about I don't want to have to witness and have our country pay for the systematic genocide of an entire people group for the crimes of Hamas.' It's a crisis that Trump has even softened on in recent days.

'She [Melania] thinks it's terrible,' Trump told reporters of the conflict on Tuesday, noting his wife's heartbreak for the Palestinian children. 'She sees the same pictures that you see. And that we all see. And I think everybody - unless they're pretty cold-hearted or, worse than that, nuts.' 'There's nothing you can say other than it's terrible,' the president continued. 'When you see the kids. And those are kids - whether they talk [about] starvation or not - those are kids that are starving. They are starving.'

Greene criticized her Jewish colleague Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., for posting a trite message to Hamas urging them to release the hostages, adding 'until then, starve away.' 'I can only imagine how Florida’s 6th district feels now that their Representative, that they were told to vote for, openly calls for starving innocent people and children,' the Georgian hit back. Greene is also ramping up her political operation as the race for South Carolina governor gets into stride.

Although she's not aiming for governor or for a Senate spot, for now, her millions of devoted followers may still prove handy. The MAGA firebrand and Trump ally still thinks she'd win her state with or without the president's - or the Republican establishment's - blessing. Which points to why she's been so brazen in recent comments critical of Trump. 'One day, I might just run without the blessing from the good ‘ole boys club or the out of state consulting leaches or even without the blessing of my favorite President,' the 51-year-old wrote on X. 'One day, I might just run purely out of the blessing of the wonderful people of Georgia, my family and friends, but it won’t be in 2026.'

She added that she has a 'different perspective of the entire 2026 campaign cycle ahead and the fragile state of Republican control in Georgia.' Greene, a congresswoman first elected in 2021 to her northwest Georgia district, boasts a combined 7.4 million followers across her Instagram and X accounts. She has frequently used that following to sounds concern to what she calls 'the base,' what can be considered the core MAGA voters. In May, she sounded alarm about 'the base' not supporting U.S. military action with Iran. She warned that neocons were convincing Trump to get involved abroad and she pleaded for the president not to get involved in the Middle East.

The strange X post raised some eyebrows at the time, but after the U.S. bombed Iran in June that warning now rings prescient. The Republican similarly stood against Trump's domestic policy agenda, the 'Big, Beautiful Bill' for AI policies it contained, loudly decrying the challenges they pose online. After raising concerns about the AI provision online, a group of legislators drafted a new rule to change the rule, and Greene's outcry ultimately resulted in the law being changed.