Marjorie Taylor Greene vs. Lauren Boebert Is the Feud No One Was Expecting

A growing rift between Congresswomen Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boebert has recently deepened after the Colorado congresswoman mocked her fellow MAGA Republican over an antisemitic theory she spread back in 2018.

For four years now, Greene has been mocked over her so-called "Jewish space laser" theory, which she single-handedly invented when she accused the Rothschilds, a prominent Jewish banking family, of profiting from California wildfires which they had themselves ignited with "lasers or blue beams of light" from space. The delusional theory, first published in a since-deleted 2018 Facebook post, was widely embraced by QAnon followers.

But while mockery from critics of the controversial, far-right Georgia congresswoman is expected, the same comes as a surprise from fellow MAGA congresswoman Boebert.

Despite apparently having much in common—an unwavering support for MAGA causes, a record of anti-LGBTQ statements, a flair for controversy and incendiary speeches—Greene and Boebert are not the close allies that they would naturally seem to be.

The recent clash between the two congresswomen was sparked by a topic the two disagree on: Greene's support for Kevin McCarthy's bid to become House speaker, which is strongly opposed by a number of hard-right Republicans, including Boebert.

In an interview with conservative commentator Charlie Kirk on Monday, Boebert said she had been wrongly "accused" of having the same beliefs as Greene, while she would actually refuse to back McCarthy.

"I've aligned with Marjorie and been accused of believing a lot of the things that she believes in," Boebert told Kirk. "I don't believe in [McCarthy as speaker], just as I don't believe in Russian space lasers, Jewish space lasers and all of this. No."

Boebert's comment went much further criticizing her colleague than simply taking some distance from her stance on McCarthy, and for sure this is how Greene perceived it.

The Georgia congresswoman fired back at Boebert in a series of tweets on Monday accusing the Colorado congresswoman of being "childish" and throwing her under the bus for the sake of making an impressive statement on TV—while also reminding Boebert of her poorer-than-expected performance at the recent midterm elections.

"I've supported and donated to Lauren Boebert," Greene tweeted. "[Former] President [Donald] Trump has supported and donated to Lauren Boebert. Kevin McCarthy has supported and donated to Lauren Boebert. She just barely came through by 500 votes."

"She gladly takes our $$$ but when she's been asked: Lauren refuses to endorse [former] President Trump, she refuses to support Kevin McCarthy, and she childishly threw me under the bus for a cheap sound bite," she continued.

Greene lamented that "conservative fighters" like she and Boebert used to "work together to Save America," but Boebert is now devoted to "high school drama and media sound bites" instead.

But the estrangement between the two congresswomen, once close allies, has been recently unraveling on the U.S. political stage. In April, POLITICO published a report saying that Greene and Boebert had to be physically separated from each other during an argument earlier in the year, and the two "MAGA twins" were actually "not quite buddy-buddy" within the GOP.

The argument, according to the newspaper, was about Greene's participation at a February event organized by a known white nationalist. The incident was confirmed to POLITICO by three people linked to the Freedom Caucus.

The newspaper wrote that Boebert "detests being tied to her Georgia colleague," and that the rift between the two colleagues is a sign of a bigger identity crisis within the Freedom Caucus, the so-called "Trump support squad" created within the ranks of the GOP in 2015 to move the party to the right.

The clashing between the congresswomen appears to be a sign that at least two of the most relevant and vocal Republican hard-liners are in fact not on the same page anymore—which is elating news for critics of the two conservative congresswomen.

Critics of the two MAGA congresswomen are reveling in the ongoing feud between Greene and Boebert.

"The Marge Greene / Lauren Boebert feud that I have predicted for a year is officially ON," former federal prosecutor Ron Filipkowski wrote on Twitter.

"Marjorie Taylor Greene is attacking Lauren Boebert. Sounds like the far right knows it's a sinking ship without so much as a paddle," commented Democratic Congressman Ritchie Torres on Twitter.

"We've risen to the 'Marjorie Taylor Greene publicly feuding with Lauren Boebert' portion of the McCarthy speaker-stakes," wrote journalist Jacob Rubashkin.

Some analysts are seeing the rift between the two congresswomen as a direct consequence of Boebert's performance at the midterms, where she narrowly won over her Democratic rival.

"Whatever their personal feelings are, this comes down to differing districts. Greene is in a far right R+22 district where reelection hinges on being as hideous as possible. Boebert is in an R+7 district and nearly lost, and now presumably wants to tone down the hideousness," political analysis website Palmer Report wrote of the feud.

"Boebert sees an opportunity to portray herself as reasonable by distancing herself from Greene. Greene sees an opportunity to cement her hideousness by attacking Boebert for not being hideous enough," the website continued.

"Who knows (or cares) if they like or hate each other for real. Either way, they're each doing what they think will give them the best odds of reelection in their respective districts. These things are about reelection—and that comes down to the ideology of each House district."

Palmer Report concludes that whatever the reason the two congresswomen are fighting, "when two of the most controversial House Republicans begin viciously feuding in public like this, it makes the entire party look bad, and if it continues through to 2024, it'll hurt some other House Republicans' reelection prospects in moderate districts."

Newsweek has contacted Greene and Boebert for comment.