While Biden has been reluctant to talk about the ongoing state and federal investigations into Trump’s efforts to reverse his 2020 defeat, wary of being seen as interfering with the various probes, he has wholeheartedly leaned into new attacks on Greene.

The president has referenced Greene roughly a dozen times this year, according to an NBC News analysis, a reflection of the second-term congresswoman’s rising profile in state and national politics as a far-right Trump loyalist with a history of promoting lies and conspiracy theories.

She has become, a Biden campaign aide said this week, an “unintentional” spokeswoman for the Democrat’s reelection bid.

That has, of course, also made Greene a hero to some in the Republican Party’s conservative wing, as evidenced by her resounding reelection victory, her close relationship to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and her extraordinary fundraising success.

She raised more than $12 million in the last cycle — far exceeding the financial totals of many statewide contenders and every other incumbent in the state’s U.S. House delegation. Some Republicans say the attacks by Biden and other Democrats simply reinforce her appeal.

“She appears to be doing what she needs to do to keep her constituents happy, and she’s getting more clout in Washington by aligning with McCarthy and leaving the Freedom Caucus,” said Martha Zoller, a commentator and former GOP House candidate, referencing Greene’s recent ouster from the conservative group.

Zoller added that it could factor into Greene’s ambitions next year, when she could be a potential running mate to Trump or another GOP nominee for president, or in 2026, when Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff is up for a second term.

“There are many layers to Marjorie Taylor Greene,” Zoller said. “She’s making herself more palatable for something else down the line.”

Seeking swing voters

Greene has remained a go-to target for Democrats thanks to her knack for publicity, whether it be controversial tweets — she has a history of hateful, xenophobic social media posts — public speeches or congressional events.

On Wednesday, she showed what appeared to be sexually explicit images of Hunter Biden, the president’s son, at a House committee hearing. It drew scornful rebukes from Democrats — and kept her the focus of cable TV shows throughout the day.

Democrats hope the focus on Greene galvanizes both liberals and middle-of-the-road voters — a bloc that proved decisive in Georgia’s past few election cycles as Democrats picked up statewide victories.

Swing voters helped fuel Biden’s narrow victory in Georgia over Trump in 2020 and the victories by Ossoff and Raphael Warnock over GOP incumbents in 2021 that flipped control of the U.S. Senate.

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

And split-ticket voters decided last year’s midterm election by siding with Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in the November general election while backing Warnock over GOP nominee Herschel Walker.

“Winning swing states and swing districts requires winning over moderate swing voters,” said Nathan Price, a University of North Georgia political scientist.

“Biden’s team is betting that Marjorie Taylor Greene is out of touch with the median voter in the states and districts that are going to determine which party wins Congress and the presidency next year,” Price added.

‘Never been weaker’?

The president’s campaign is tapping into an established trend in Georgia.

Down-ticket Democrats routinely tie their GOP opponents to Greene. Her 2022 opponent, Marcus Flowers, raised more than $16 million by promising to “put an end” to her brand of politics. (He lost by 32 percentage points.)

And state Democrats have rushed out fundraising emails for years to gin up donations from Greene’s latest controversy by claiming that the Republican is somehow in a precarious position in her deep-red district.

In one sent this month, the Democratic Party of Georgia proclaimed that Greene “has NEVER been weaker” after leaving the Freedom Caucus.

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC

“Now is the best moment to pitch in and help us defeat her in 2024,” the fundraising appeal stated. “If we can flip the House, we can remove MTG from her powerful Congressional committees and defeat her MAGA extremism. Are you with us?”

Biden has taken a page from that playbook, though he sometimes flashes a more humorous approach. At the White House Correspondents Dinner in April, Biden drew howls of laughter from a room full of Washington heavyweights when he encouraged partygoers to be safe.

“If you find yourself disoriented or confused,” he said, “it’s either you’re drunk or Marjorie Taylor Greene.”

And earlier this month, he promised he’ll take his message directly to Greene’s backyard when he promotes his signature economic measure — a federal tax law that pumps billions of dollars into green energy initiatives — at a solar panel plant in northwest Georgia.

“Since I took office, we’ve seen over 60 domestic manufacturing announcements all across the solar supply chain,” the president said. “One of the biggest is in Dalton, Georgia. You may find it hard to believe, but that’s in Marjorie Taylor Greene’s district.”

Then, Biden added with a chuckle: “I’ll be there for the groundbreaking.”