Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene broke from President Trump on Thursday, saying his repeated claims that grocery and energy prices are falling do not match what Americans are experiencing. Speaking to CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, the Georgia Republican said voters are still struggling with basic expenses, and she argued that the cost-of-living crunch played a real role in the GOP’s poor performance in this week’s elections.
“I go to the grocery store myself,” Greene said. “Grocery prices remain high. Energy prices are high. My electricity bills are higher here in Washington, D.C., at my apartment, and they’re also higher at my house in Rome, Georgia, higher than they were a year ago.” She added, “Affordability is a problem.”
Greene said the issue is especially clear when she returns home to her district. Constituents, she said, are telling her they’re struggling to keep up with rent and everyday bills, with some “maxing out their credit cards just to afford their monthly expenses.” She said she worries her children’s generation is facing an even tougher climb.
The remarks came just days after Democrats won several major races, including the governorships in Virginia and New Jersey and the New York City mayoralty. Greene has repeatedly tied those victories to economic dissatisfaction, telling NBC that affordability was a “significant factor in the elections.” She said she gives Trump “some credit” for easing inflation, but noted that housing and energy prices are continuing to rise.
Democratic candidates leaned heavily on affordability in their campaigns. New York City Mayor elect Zohran Mamdani promised free buses and a stronger push on cost-of-living reforms, while governor-elects in Virginia and New Jersey also focused on rent, groceries, and energy bills.
Trump pushed a very different message ahead of Election Day, insisting that voters were benefiting from sharply falling gas and energy prices. “If affordability is your issue, VOTE REPUBLICAN!” he posted on Tuesday. After the GOP’s losses, he insisted again that prices were down and said Democrats’ affordability argument was “DEAD.” “My costs are lower than the Democrats on everything,” he wrote. “STOP LYING!!!”
Some Republicans disagree. Ohio GOP gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy has said affordability remains a top concern, and Vice President J. D. Vance wrote Wednesday that the administration will be judged in 2026 on whether “a decent life” feels affordable again.
Greene’s comments stood out in part because she rarely contradicts Trump in public. Her remarks, however, reflected what many Republicans privately acknowledge: voters are not feeling relief, no matter what the national numbers say.
Greene’s argument was straightforward. People know what they’re paying, she said, and they aren’t hearing that reflected back to them. For a party facing a difficult cycle ahead, her comments were a reminder that messaging only works if it lines up with what voters see at the checkout counter.
This comes as the Georgia republican has shown a pattern of pivoting from her previous far-right views. Despite her criticisms, she is yet to waver in her support for Trump as many question her newfound wisdom.
