In the whimsical yet cautionary world of Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Veruca Salt storms through Willy Wonka’s factory like a spoiled brat on steroids, demanding golden geese, trained squirrels, and every shiny trinket that catches her eye. “I want it now!” she screeches, her petulance sealing her fate down the garbage chute.
Fast-forward to 2025 Washington, and one can’t help but see echoes of Veruca in Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (MTG)—once the bleach-blonde firebrand of MAGA, now morphing into the “Blonde AOC,” trading principled conservatism for performative tantrums because President Trump didn’t hand her a Senate endorsement on a silver platter.
Greene’s descent began in earnest this fall, when her ambitions for higher office collided with cold political reality. Polling at a dismal 12% for a Georgia Senate or gubernatorial run, she beseeched Trump for his golden touch. But Trump, ever the pragmatist, saw the writing on the wall and urged her to stand down, withholding the endorsement that might have salvaged her quixotic quest.
What followed wasn’t quiet reflection or a pivot back to her House duties—no, it was a full-throated Veruca meltdown.
Greene announced her resignation from Congress effective January 5, 2026, framing it as escape from a “battered wife” dynamic with the man she once called her unyielding champion. In interviews with the enemy—yes, 60 Minutes and CNN—she’s since spilled tea on Republican “ass-kissing” behind Trump’s back, accused him of fueling death threats against her, and declared her worship of God over any mortal leader.
It’s a spectacle as theatrical as AOC’s Instagram Lives, but with more Confederate flags and fewer Green New Deals. Conservatism demands loyalty to principles, not personal grudges—yet here we are, watching a supposed America First warrior prioritize her ego over the movement that elevated her.
This isn’t Greene’s first flirtation with self-sabotage, but it’s her most destructive. Recall the scorned Speaker Kevin McCarthy, ousted in 2023 after a messy House coup. Rather than lick wounds and rebuild within GOP ranks, McCarthy scooped up his political toys and toddled straight to the Democrat Media Complex. CNN? Check. 60 Minutes? Double check.
There, he dished dirt on fellow Republicans, painting Trump allies as extremists and himself as the reasonable grown-up. It was a masterclass in bitterness, handing Dems soundbites to bludgeon the party during election cycles. McCarthy’s media tour didn’t just tarnish his legacy; it amplified the very chaos that conservatives abhor—division sown by a man too proud to put party over pout.
Greene, take note: You’re treading the same garbage chute. By resigning mid-term and airing laundry on Lesley Stahl’s couch, you’re not just quitting on your Georgia constituents—you’re gift-wrapping ammo for Pelosi’s successors.
Her district, a deep-red stronghold, now faces a chaotic primary scramble, potentially bleeding resources from key 2026 races. And for what? A shot at relevance in the post-Trump echo chamber? If she’s smart—and that’s increasingly in doubt—Greene should dial up Meghan McCain for a cautionary chat.
The View’s blonde conservative firecracker spent years there, channeling disdain for Trump into snarky monologues that thrilled the DNC while alienating her base. Meghan played the “principled” critic, railing against MAGA as her father, the late Senator John McCain, embodied the NeverTrump resistance.
It was a slow bleed, a “death by a thousand cuts” strategy that kept her relevant until John’s passing in 2018. Then? ABC unceremoniously dumped her, her political capital spent like chump change in the left’s endless war on conservatism.
Meghan’s arc is a conservative morality tale: Stray too far from the fold chasing applause from the blue-check brigade, and you’ll end up discarded, your “independence” exposed as just another tool in the establishment’s kit.
Greene, with her Epstein file fixation—pushing releases Trump rightly flagged as a Dem hoax—risks the same irrelevance. She’s not Veruca demanding a goose; she’s Willy Wonka’s forgotten prototype, sputtering sparks but no substance.
This pattern of petulance isn’t new in GOP annals—it’s the ghost of Paul Ryan haunting Capitol Hill. In Trump’s first term, the Wisconsin “Young Gun” pledged fiscal conservatism but worked overtime to undermine the MAGA agenda.
From sabotaging repeal of Obamacare to slow-walking tax cuts, Ryan’s establishment instincts shone through, culminating in his 2018 abdication that greased the skids for Nancy Pelosi’s gavel. It was deep state preservation 101: Hand the House back to radical Democrats, preserve the swamp’s status quo, and pat yourself on the back for “bipartisanship.”
Ryan’s legacy? A blueprint for RINO retreat, where personal ambition trumps national renewal.
Greene’s tantrum follows Ryan’s script to the letter. By quitting and bad mouthing Trump—the man who dragged her from obscurity to Congress—she’s not just scorning an endorsement; she’s scorning the America First revolution. Her favorability? A dismal 20% overall, splitting even with Republicans at 34% unfavorable.
That’s not leadership; that’s liability. In a House razor-thin under GOP control, her exit invites chaos, potentially flipping seats to AOC’s squad and dooming probes into Biden-era corruption or border security.
Conservatives know true patriotism demands humility: Put country over self, party over pride. Trump isn’t infallible, but he’s the battering ram against the elite cabal that’s bled America dry. Greene’s Veruca act—demanding “now!” and sulking when denied—exposes her as MTG First, not America First.
She’s welcome to her 60 Minutes catharsis, but the rest of us will fight on, golden ticket in hand, building the future she chose to flush. Handing power back to the radicals? That’s not conservative—it’s capitulation. And in the factory of freedom, tantrums get you trash.
Alex Ashe is the pen name of a lifelong conservative, computer engineer, and energy enthusiast.
