In an ancient fable, a scorpion wants to cross a body of water, but because he can’t swim, the creature asks a frog to hitch a ride on the amphibian’s back.
The frog retorts that he fears the scorpion will sting him. The scorpion denies this and promises he will do no such thing, so the frog agrees to the request.
As the frog swims to the other side, however, his arachnid passenger suddenly stings his new green friend and – despite both being doomed to drown – explains to his stunned victim that he was merely following his nature.
This fable came to mind as I was observing last weekend’s drama involving Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, the former MAGA darling, who was disavowed by President Donald Trump after breaking with the president too many times to his liking – on releasing the Epstein files, Obamacare health insurance subsidies, foreign affairs and mass deportation policy.
Trump, as is his nature, denounced her with a series of insults, including “wacky,” “lunatic” and “traitor.” He also withdrew his endorsement of her.
Greene said the president’s rebuke of her led to unwanted pizza deliveries, hoax emergency calls and death threats.
On Sunday, in an appearance on CNN’s “State of the Union,” she said she was turning a new leaf on “toxic politics” and putting behind her history of inflammatory statements, conspiracy theory accusations and historic meanness.
“I really just want to see people be kind to one another,” Greene said. “And we need to figure out a new path forward that is focused on the American people, because, as Americans, no matter what side of the aisle we’re on, we have far more in common than we have differences.”
That’s a noble aim, but I wondered, “Who gets to be the frog in this story?”
Political transformations are possible in America
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com
Greene’s past behavior – bigoted statements, yelling at President Joe Biden during a State of the Union address and packing social media punches – naturally gets her cast as the scorpion in this latest chapter of her political career.
But what if she’s serious about changing her ways? Political turnarounds are not unprecedented.
Former segregationist Democratic Alabama Gov. George Wallace, who physically blocked Black students from entering his state’s flagship university, later reinvented himself as a civil rights supporter – and as a Republican.
Meanwhile, in Georgia, former Republican Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan is now a Democrat running for governor and has changed his positions on issues such as abortion rights and restricting firearms.
While Wallace and Duncan are not the same people, they took enormous political risks to walk away from their past political selves to seek redemption – and perhaps also political survival.
It worked for Wallace in Alabama, and it might work for Duncan in 2026.
The problem that Greene faces is that she wants to have her cake and eat it too.
She wants to be her own person and also show her constituents that she fully supports Trump to avoid alienating his many backers in Georgia’s 14th Congressional District.
The president, who expects total and complete loyalty, is clear that MTG is dead to him, at least for now. After all, he’s known to change his mind.
Greene doesn’t deserve the threats and insults she is receiving – no one does – but she must show that she is serious about her newfound embrace of civility, and she should accept the skepticism.
Greene’s path forward may require being willing to lose an election
Credit: ABC
Credit: ABC
In Georgia, Trump’s endorsement is not as powerful as in other Republican-leaning or dominated states.
Take the 2022 midterms. Despite his animus for fellow Republicans Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger for objecting to his false 2020 election fraud claims, his hand-picked primary picks lost. His choice for U.S. Senate GOP nominee, Herschel Walker, now U.S. ambassador to the Bahamas, lost to Democratic incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock.
Kemp and Raffensperger now openly embrace Trump policies, but they had to run the gauntlet to be seen as their own men.
If Greene survives a 2026 Republican primary challenge, she too may be able to forge her own path.
Until recently, she had been one of Trump’s biggest boosters.
Politics is the art of the possible, as the axiom goes, and so far, Greene has been treated like a novelty on CNN, “The View” and “Real Time with Bill Maher.”
But for all her talk about change, Greene must build a record of redemption, which may take a long time and which may only be possible if she is willing to fight and willing to lose an election.
That may be the clue that her transformation is sincere and not just opportunistic.
At this moment, however, if I were the frog, I would deny her request for a ride across the river.
David Plazas is the AJC’s opinion editor. Email him at david.plazas@ajc.com.
About the Author
Keep Reading
The Latest
Featured
