In an appearance on a Denver talk radio station last Monday, Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) described a “civil war” within the GOP congressional caucus between establishment and Trump Republicans and identified Colorado’s own U.S. Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) as one of her allies in the struggle for control of the party.
Greene appeared on KNUS to publicize the America First Rally Tour, organized and headlined by herself and U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-GA) to promote the Trump agenda and engage the MAGA base.
Boebert and Greene were sworn in to Congress together as freshman members in January, following successful campaigns of similar styles in which they championed claims of conspiracy theorists and QAnon adherents, while garnering full-throated endorsements from Donald Trump.
In her interview on KNUS, Greene praised Boebert, saying;
“The media just beats up on people like me, people like Congresswoman Lauren Boebert, people like Congressman Matt Gaetz, you know, and many others. The media pounds us into the sand. … They promote the weak Republicans — the RINO establishment Republicans … But on the ground, we know the American people, the Republican voters. We know what they want. They want Donald Trump Republicans. They want people like me, people like Matt Gaetz, and people like Jim Jordan.”
Jim Jordan is the founder and current deputy chair of the House Freedom Caucus, a group of ideological conservative Republicans, originally aligned with the Tea Party and focused on challenging more moderate, establishment Republicans.
Gaetz, another Freedom Caucus member and staunch Trump supporter, is currently embattled and marginalized in Congress due to ongoing Department of Justice investigations, one concerning alleged sex-crimes and drug use, and another — related to the first — concerning alleged obstruction of justice.
Greene told Randy Corporon, guest host on the Peter Boyles Show on KNUS, that Republicans of the 115th Congress, who enjoyed majorities in both houses during the first two years of Trump’s presidency, had failed in executing their mandate from conservative voters to support Trump’s policies.
She outlined her vision and agenda for the Republican Party going forward:
“So, we have this civil war in the party right now, and Matt Gaetz and I have joined together to make sure that we never go back to that Republican Party. We’re going forward. It’s an America First Republican Party. It’s a Donald J. Trump Republican Party. And it’s a party for the people and definitely not the politicians. And so, please, everybody that’s listening, make sure that you go to AmericaFirstRallyTour.com … and check it out because we’ll be having our tour dates there. … Having huge numbers of people — guess what — that scares the establishment, that scares Democrats, and then [it] also lets them know that we are not giving up the fight. As a matter of fact, we’re going to control the Republican Party.
In promoting the America First Rally Tour, Corporon invited Greene to “mostly blue” Colorado, where 12 Democratic candidates have signed on so far to challenge Boebert for her seat in 2022.
Greene assured Corporon:
“I would love to come to Colorado. That’s actually one of the places on our list. So, be on the lookout for that.”
She did not mention whether Boebert would appear with Greene and Gaetz on the tour.
In transitioning to elected office, Boebert has tried to distance herself from QAnon while relentlessly trolling her opposition with social media posts and PR stunts.
Greene, however, was quickly held accountable for her arguably even more provocative statements supporting violent threats against Democrats, including one where she suggested that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi be assassinated for treason.
RELATED: No Laughing Matter: Boebert Calls For Dr. Fauci’s Execution
Eleven Republicans joined Democrats in voting to remove Greene from her budget and education committee assignments, with one calling her views “not just objectionable, but insane.” Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy condemned Greene’s comments but voted against her ouster.
But Greene’s civil war with moderate Republicans is not the only challenge she faces. She has met resistance from her own colleagues in the Freedom Caucus.
In April, Greene attempted to establish an America First Caucus — or the “white supremacy caucus,” as some Democrats called it — with U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ). Their formal announcement in the congressional newletter Punchbowl News boasted a platform that included preserving “Anglo-Saxon political traditions.”
While some members of the Freedom Caucus agreed to join the America First Caucus, U.S. Rep. Ken Buck (R-CO) along with other Freedom Caucus and Republican members slammed the platform and promised sanctions against members who agreed to join Greene and Gosar’s caucus.
Amidst the subsequent hue and cry, Greene distanced herself from the platform, saying it was a draft composed by an outside group that she hadn’t read before its publication.
Previously, the entire Freedom Caucus had stood with Greene in opposition to stripping her of her committee assignments.
Listen to the entire interview between Marjorie Taylor Greene and Randy Corporon on the Peter Boyles Show (KNUS) from Monday, May 31, 2021: