Did Taylor Greene see the light about Trump? There’s a simpler reason for their fall-out

This kind of professional secrecy, where women rely on powerful men for their own professional status, can be confusing. It’s not hard to imagine Noem, the onetime “Snow Queen of South Dakota,” struggling with professional respect, or Boebert, a GED holder, having few career options. And for many, investing in Trump worked. They didn’t just win elections and obtain political appointments. They also became stars.

But history can tell what happens when a king grants a woman new powers: When the king tires of her, her reign ends.

Seeing Greene’s newfound political trajectory as bravery assumes that it’s something she must risk in standing up to Trump. But it is equally possible that, like millions of women before her, Greene’s status with the king had already deteriorated. Trump once fondly described Greene’s frequent phone calls. This month he described them as troublemakers and her as crazy. A classic breakup drama.

It’s a bit of a shame that Greene has failed to find any value in feminism throughout her public career. Because what is currently shaping her political destiny can be explained quite simply with Feminism 101.

Trump’s White House is so circus-like that it’s easy to forget that it’s also a workplace. And women of a certain age know what it means to grow old in the workplace. Trump’s own administration shows two paths available. His chief of staff, Susie Wiles, is experienced, competent, and appears to be doing just fine in Trump’s sexist universe. He is also not trying to attract public attention or build a public brand as a politically influential person. If you don’t have the weight of it, your ambition is based on goodness. This is where it gets sticky. The Trump ethos is enterprising, willing, younger women.

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Trump runs beauty pageants like he once ran them. Women adorn its atmosphere. They should not challenge him for leadership.

It didn’t go unnoticed for me that the same month that Greene announced her retirement and the president fired her as crazy, New York’s next mayor, Zohran Mamdani, visited the West Wing.

While Greene has been measured even in her disagreements with Trump, Mamdani is a self-described democratic socialist who has called out the president’s “fascist tactics.” But Trump showered Mamdani with praise. She beamed with happiness to the whole world, looking at him like a young girl in a Renaissance painting. When the news media pressed Mamdani about his past comments and pressed him about flying to Washington instead of the “greener” option, Trump stepped in to defend him. Even loudly.

Yes, there was a lot of hero worship in the game. Mamdani is the coolest kid in New York City, the only school Trump ever cared about. But Mamdani is also a man.

The man Greene relied on for political support fawned over a socialist before protecting his loyal female surrogate. Women helped make Trump. Trump never considered repaying the favor. Some women will understand this more quickly than others.

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At the end of the day, fantasies about Greene’s political evolution are overblown. His own words show that he has no regrets for the great damage he has caused to this nation, its discourse, and its political legitimacy. Yes, he made a full-throated apology for his role in our “toxic policies.” But on the whole, like many conservative women, she benefits from the feminism she despises. She had long thought that being a tough girl who boomed around men would win their loyalty; However, this is nothing more than women gaining the right to throw themselves to the sword for the sake of men who never deserve their sacrifices.

Greene, in his own way, is a survivor. He has taken a careful look at his political destiny and appears to be betting on himself. He may be starting to become a forward thinker, as some reports indicate that others in the House are also planning to retire. Or he may have misjudged the market about Trump’s political fate. Either way, he took the only option he really had.

There is no real place for women in Trumpism, MAGA, or the mainstream Republican Party as long as they are one and the same. But Greene’s trajectory is a lesson worthy of a fairy tale. If you want to control your own destiny, it’s better to be an evil witch than a princess.

This article was first published on: New York Times.

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