Greene Says Trump Told Her 'My Friends Will Get Hurt' During Final Phone Call Over Epstein Files

Marjorie Taylor Greene has revealed that President Donald Trump told her 'my friends will get hurt' during what she describes as their final phone call. This conversation ultimately ended their five-year political alliance. Greene, a longtime ally of Trump, said it was ultimately 'Epstein' that divided them permanently, adding, 'Epstein was everything.'

The details featured in a magazine profile published by the New York Times Magazine in late December 2025 offer new insight into Greene's remarkable break with Trump after being one of his staunchest supporters since she took office in 2021. The account, drawn from multiple interviews, has since amplified already intense scrutiny over how the Trump administration has handled the release of files tied to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

The Phone Call

The turning point came in September 2025, after Greene met with several Epstein survivors during a closed-door House Oversight Committee hearing and found their testimony credible. She subsequently held a news conference where she threatened to identify men who had abused the women, stating she could obtain the names directly from the victims.

During the call, which Greene says Trump initiated, she says the president yelled at her as she listened on speakerphone. According to Greene, she pushed back directly: 'I'm trying to tell him, 'Mr. President, they say you did nothing wrong. This needs to come out.' And so we're having this argument. And he tells me on this phone call, he's like, 'Marjorie, my friends will get hurt.''

Greene says she was confused by his resistance and pressed him further, including urging him to invite some of Epstein's female victims to the Oval Office. Trump, according to Greene, refused, telling her the survivors had not earned that honour.

Democratic Reaction

The account drew immediate condemnation from across the aisle. Senator Ruben Gallego of Arizona reposted the passage on X and wrote: 'That's the Trump presidency in a sentence: Elite protecting elite. Even if they abused young girls.' Representative Jim McGovern of Massachusetts also shared the passage, writing: 'Trump ran on draining the swamp. It turns out he is the swamp.'

The White House, for its part, dismissed Greene's characterisation. White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said in a statement: 'Congresswoman Greene is quitting on her constituents in the middle of her term and abandoning the consequential fight we're in — we don't have time for her petty bitterness.'

The Fallout and Resignation

In her first interview following her resignation announcement, Greene told CBS 60 Minutes host Lesley Stahl that it had everything to do with the Epstein files. 'I stood for women who were raped when they were 14 years old. And the president that I fought for for five years called me a traitor for that. And so that changed the landscape of things,' she said.

In mid-November, as pressure to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act ramped up, Trump railed against Greene in a Truth Social post, calling her a 'traitor' and a 'lunatic' and announcing he was withdrawing his support for her. Greene has said those posts led to death threats against her and members of her family. She subsequently announced her resignation from Congress, effective 5 January 2026.

In her resignation statement, Greene wrote: 'Standing up for American women who were raped at 14, trafficked and used by rich powerful men, should not result in me being called a traitor and threatened by the President of the United States of America, whom I fought for.'

Files Still Incomplete

Greene's bipartisan support helped the House pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act in a 427-1 vote on 18 November, which was later unanimously approved by the Senate and signed into law by Trump the following day. The law gave the federal government 30 days to release all remaining Epstein files; however, only some of the files were released prior to the deadline.

The Justice Department announced that the full release of the Epstein files could take 'a few more weeks,' missing the 19 December deadline set by Congress. The DOJ said the US attorney's office in Manhattan and the FBI had found more than a million additional documents related to the case, but did not clarify when it was informed of the new findings.

The Justice Department has not confirmed when the remaining files will be released.