• Greene criticizes Trump’s “locked and loaded” warning to defend Iranian protesters
• Cites Israeli billionaire Shlomo Kramer’s CNBC comments calling to “limit the First Amendment”
• Georgia representative departs Congress Monday after public falling out with president over multiple policy disputes

WASHINGTON, DC (TDR) — Outgoing Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) delivered sharp criticism Friday of President Donald Trump‘s threat to intervene militarily in Iran as it cracks down on anti-government protests, saying the pledge represents a betrayal of the America First movement that propelled him to power.

Greene wrote on the social platform X that Trump’s intervention threat, combined with Israeli billionaire Shlomo Kramer‘s recent CNBC comments calling for the federal government to “limit the First Amendment” by controlling speech on social media, amounts to “everything we voted against” in 2024.

“The focus should be on tax dollars here at home and defending our God given freedoms and rights,” Greene wrote, adding that Trump voters have been threatening a tax revolt due to frustration over “never ending waste, fraud, and abuse of their hard earned money going to foreigners and foreign wars.”

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Greene departs Congress on Monday after announcing her resignation in November following a bitter falling out with Trump over her support for releasing the Jeffrey Epstein files and other policy disagreements.

Trump’s Iran Intervention Pledge

The president vowed on Truth Social early Friday morning that the United States will “rescue” protesters if the Iranian regime takes violent action against them, declaring America is “locked and loaded and ready to go” if the Islamic Republic kills more demonstrators.

“If Iran shots and violently kills peaceful protesters, which is their custom, the United States of America will come to their rescue,” Trump wrote in the 3 a.m. post. “We are locked and loaded and ready to go.”

The threat came as protests driven by Iran’s worsening economic crisis spread across multiple cities, with at least seven deaths reported. The demonstrations, sparked partly by the collapse of Iran’s rial currency, represent the biggest unrest since 2022 protests following the death of Mahsa Amini in police custody.

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White House officials told CNN the post was meant as a “strong warning” with no immediate military action taken. “At this point it was a strong warning, no action has been taken that I’m aware of,” a White House official said.

Conservative Backlash Grows

Greene isn’t alone among conservative Republicans criticizing Trump’s Iran stance. Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) wrote on X that the United States “shouldn’t be wasting military resources on another country’s internal affairs,” adding that the threat “isn’t about freedom of speech in Iran; it’s about the dollar, oil, and Israel.”

Steve Bannon, Trump’s chief strategist during his first term, said Friday on his “War Room” podcast that the president’s threats are “straight from” former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton‘s “playbook.”

This marks the second time Greene has criticized Trump over Iran policy. After the president authorized strikes on three Iranian nuclear facilities in June, she warned that intervention “is going to fracture” the MAGA movement, though she emphasized her opposition wasn’t “disloyalty.”

Kramer’s First Amendment Comments

Greene’s criticism also targeted Shlomo Kramer, co-founder of Check Point Software and Cato Networks, who told CNBC this week that “it’s time to limit the First Amendment in order to protect it.”

Kramer argued that artificial intelligence gives authoritarian regimes an “unfair advantage” compared to democracies that prioritize free speech. He proposed that government should “control the platforms, the social platforms” and “stack rank the authenticity of every person that expresses themselves online and take control over what they’re saying.”

The billionaire’s comments sparked immediate backlash across social media, with critics accusing him of endorsing censorship and advocating for state-controlled speech similar to China. Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) responded simply with “No.”

Greene’s Departure from Congress

Greene announced her resignation in November, effective January 5, 2026, after Trump withdrew his endorsement and threatened to back a primary challenger against her. The split stemmed from her support for the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which Trump initially opposed, along with disagreements over foreign policy, health care subsidies, and whether he remained committed to America First principles.

“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, whom I fought for,” Greene said in her resignation statement.

Trump told reporters Friday that Greene’s resignation is “great news for the country,” adding that she would have lost if she had run for reelection. “I think she should be happy,” Trump said.

Greene, first elected in 2020, rose to prominence as one of Trump’s most vocal congressional defenders before their relationship fractured over policy disputes. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp will call a special election to fill her heavily Republican district, which she carried by 29 points in 2024.

The congresswoman warned in her resignation message that if she is “cast aside” by the MAGA movement, “then many common Americans have been cast aside and replaced as well,” though she didn’t rule out returning to elected office in the future.

Will Trump’s foreign policy threats and growing conservative criticism over intervention risk fracturing his political base ahead of the 2026 midterms?

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