White House officials believe former congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene may have played a role in tipping off a far-left protest group about President Donald Trump’s dinner plans last September, according to a report that details growing internal concerns about the president’s safety and Greene’s break with the administration.
Axios reporter Alex Isenstadt described a “chaotic confrontation” that unfolded when protesters affiliated with Code Pink confronted Trump at Joe’s Seafood in Washington, D.C. The restaurant had been recommended to the president by Greene herself. The incident, according to the report, embarrassed the president and intensified worries inside the White House about security vulnerabilities tied to public appearances.
Officials later informed the Secret Service that they suspected Greene may have alerted Code Pink to Trump’s intention to dine at the restaurant that evening. According to Isenstadt, the White House theory rests on two main factors involving Greene’s actions and associations.
First, aides pointed to Greene’s role in suggesting Joe’s Seafood as the dining location. After making the recommendation, officials say Greene repeatedly contacted White House staffers on the day of the dinner to confirm whether Trump was indeed going. Sources told Axios that once Trump learned of these calls, he personally phoned Greene shortly before leaving the White House to confirm his plans.
What raised additional suspicion among some aides was Greene’s absence that evening. Despite being described as a regular at the restaurant, she did not show up while Trump and senior officials were there, a detail that struck members of the president’s team as unusual.
The second pillar of the White House’s theory centers on Greene’s relationship with Code Pink and its leadership. Aides noted that Greene is friends with Code Pink co-founder Medea Benjamin. Greene and the activist group share common ground in opposing U.S. military aid to Ukraine and Israel. Benjamin had previously praised Greene for opposing Trump’s bombing of nuclear sites in Iran and for calling to strip foreign aid from the Pentagon’s budget.
Greene and Code Pink both strongly denied the accusation. Greene told Axios that the allegation is “an absolute lie, a dangerous lie,” and said that while she recommended the restaurant, she had no knowledge of when Trump planned to dine there. Code Pink also rejected the claim, with spokesperson Melissa Garriga saying, “That absolutely did not happen, to the point it is comical.”
The episode highlights the growing rift between Trump and Greene, who was once a vocal supporter but has since broken with the president on several high-profile issues. Trump publicly addressed the split in a November Oval Office question-and-answer session, expressing disappointment with Greene’s recent positions.
“Yeah, so I don’t know what happened to Marjorie,” Trump said at the time. “She’s a nice woman, but I don’t know what happened. She’s lost her way, I think.” He added that Greene appeared to be “catering to the other side” and said he was surprised by her shift, suggesting she no longer understood the issues as he saw them.
While no evidence has been publicly presented to substantiate the White House’s suspicions, the incident underscores heightened sensitivities around presidential security and internal tensions within Trump’s political orbit as former allies drift into open disagreement.
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