AP Photo/Nathan Howard
- Former President Trump said he'd "fight like hell" for MTG if she decided to pursue a Senate bid.
- While speaking at his rally in Waco, Tex., Trump praised Rep. Greene as a tough GOP politician.
- Greene has also been floated as a potential vice presidential running mate for the former president.
Former President Donald Trump on Saturday praised Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia as "brilliant" and said that he'd "fight like hell" for her if she chose to run for the Senate.
Trump, while speaking during his weekend rally in Waco, Texas, told the crowd that Greene embodied the sort of political toughness that he feels is missing among many Republican leaders in Washington, DC.
"Republicans cannot take it any longer. They have to get tougher, but they cannot take it," he said. "These Washington Republicans like Mitch McConnell who's the absolute worst. They've got to get tougher; they've got to get like Marjorie Taylor Greene."
"Would you like to run for the Senate?" Trump added while addressing Greene from the podium. "I would fight like hell for you."
The next Senate race in Georgia will be held until 2026 when Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff would be up for a second term. The state's other senator, Democrat Raphael Warnock, won a hard-fought election victory last year, defeating the former NFL star Herschel Walker in what was one of the most competitive races in the nation.
Trump, who faces a potential indictment from the Manhattan District Attorney's office over his involvement in a hush-money payment made to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in advance of the 2016 presidential election, rallied his supporters after spending days attacking his political opponents and claiming that the probe was simply a "witch hunt."
The former president finds himself at a crossroads; he also faces potential criminal charges in Georgia over his push to overturn now-President Joe Biden's 2020 victory in the pivotal swing state, but he consistently remains at the top of the national polls among likely Republican primary voters. And although Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida is seen as a leading contender to possibly capture the GOP presidential nomination over Trump, the governor has not yet entered the race, and the former president has wasted no time attacking his onetime political ally in recent weeks.
Trump, in holding his rally on the 30th anniversary of the deadly siege between the religious cult Branch Davidians and federal authorities, in many ways used the weekend event in Texas to reaffirm his continued political dominance of the Republican Party.
Well-known conservative figures in the Lone Star State like Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who took credit for selecting Waco as the site of Trump's rally, and Reps. Wesley Hunt and Troy Nehls were in attendance at the rally.
But Greene, a national conservative star, has also been mentioned as a potential vice presidential running mate for Trump next year. And the former president continued to throw compliments her way on Saturday, praising his ally as someone who can be trusted to stand their ground in the nation's capital.
"People don't realize how brilliant she is," Trump said of Greene. "She's a badass."