Marjorie Taylor Greene among the few Georgians given nasty nickname from Trump

Today’s newsletter highlights:

• Tim Echols offers a blunt assessment of his election defeat.
• Voters to pick a successor to Jason Esteves in the state Senate.
• Richard Woods pushes for teacher pay raises.

What’s in a nickname?

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene frequently heckled former President Joe Biden, including calling him a liar during his 2023 State of the Union address. (TNS)

When President Donald Trump broke with U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene last week, he didn’t just withdraw his coveted endorsement from her reelection campaign.

He gave her insulting nicknames.

He started by calling her “wacky” on Friday, then moved on to “Marjorie Traitor Greene” and “Marjorie Traitor Brown” — explaining that last one is because green things turn brown when they rot.

As far as we can tell, Greene is one of the few Georgia politicians to earn a derisive moniker from Trump.

He’s had plenty of opportunities, including his high-profile clashes with Gov. Brian Kemp and Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. (How hard would it be to say Crazy Kemp or Bad Brad?)

And he’s had plenty of time to come up with something for Georgia’s most recognizable Democrats: Stacey Abrams, Geoff Duncan, and U.S. Sens. Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock.

The only prominent example we could find was Trump referring to Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis as “Phoney Fani” — a pun referring to the phone call she investigated between himself and Raffensperger after the 2020 election.

Political insults are a tradition nearly as old as politics itself, with critics bestowing President John Adams with the nickname “Bonny Johnny” — supposedly a dig at his weight. But no one has used nicknames with the ferocity and frequency of Trump.

Perhaps Trump’s choice to nickname Greene stems from the depth of the fissure of their relationship, as Greene was often viewed as the leader of Trump’s lieutenants in Congress.

Which nickname for Greene will stick? Our best bet is Trump will most likely pound away with the “traitor” nickname because it appears to bother Greene the most.

Things to know:

Good morning! We’re 55 days away from the start of Georgia’s legislative session. The primary for governor, U.S. Senate and other offices is just 182 days away.

Here are three other things to know for today:

• Tariffs impacted the Savannah port in October, with container volumes down 8.4% compared to the same month a year ago, the AJC’s Emma Hurt reports.
• Conservative economist Arthur Laffer told state lawmakers on Monday that Georgia could eliminate its income tax by broadening the state’s sales tax to cover more items, the AJC’s David Wickert reports.
• Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s relationship with the State Election Board is fraying, the AJC’s Caleb Groves reports.

To be frank

Public Service Commissioner Tim Echols campaigned for reelection at a rally in Cumming in October. (Jenni Girtman for the AJC)

During his campaign for another term on the Public Service Commission, Tim Echols was startlingly candid about his strategy and approach. And in defeat, he’s just as straightforward.

On the latest taping of his Energy Matters podcast, Echols unpacked the 26-point loss he and fellow GOP incumbent Fitz Johnson suffered in this month’s PSC election.

“Frankly, I don’t think there was anything that we could have done to counteract this kitchen table issue of affordability,” he said. “It was the issue that brought Fitz and I down.”

Echols said he essentially staked his political career on support for Plant Vogtle, the long-delayed, over-budget nuclear expansion, which came with political consequences.

“I don’t regret building it. But it was a critical part of my defeat.”

But above all, he said the campaign came down to a basic pocketbook reality.

“We weren’t able to really message out all of those positive things. Because frankly they pale in comparison to the power bill sitting in front of your face,” he said.

“People are having a hard time out there. Affordability is a real issue. Not just with your power, but with everything in your life.”

Take three

Jaha Howard was formerly a member of the Cobb County School Board. (AJC file photo)

Jaha Howard hopes to win a seat in the Georgia state Senate today. But he’ll have to defeat a former state lawmaker to do it — something he couldn’t do earlier this year.

Howard won the Democratic primary for Cobb County Commission District 2 last year. But his victory was erased after a judge ruled the electoral map unconstitutional. He tried again in March, but this time he lost to former state Rep. Erick Allen.

Today, Howard is on the ballot to replace former Democratic state Sen. Jason Esteves, who resigned to focus on his campaign for governor. But Howard is facing former state Rep. Roger Bruce, who retired from the state Legislature last year after a 22-year career

Bruce told our colleague Maya T. Prabhu that today’s special election brought him out of retirement because he believes there wasn’t enough time for voters to vet a candidate for the long term. He said he likely wouldn’t seek another term in 2026 if he’s elected.

But Howard is not unknown to voters. He spent one term on the Cobb County school board. He’s also waged unsuccessful campaigns for the state Senate and state school superintendent.

The others in the race are all first time candidates:

• Corenza Morris, a former College Park police officer running as an independent.
• Erica-Denise Solomon, a South Fulton Democrat and communications consultant.
• Josh Tolbert, an engineer from Smyrna who is running as a Republican.
• John Williams, a Louisiana native who lives in unincorporated Smyrna running as a Democrat.

Teacher raise

State School Superintendent Richard Woods first took office in 2014. (Arvin Temkar/AJC)

Georgia School Superintendent Richard Woods wants state lawmakers to give teachers an election year raise.

Woods, a Republican who is running for his fourth term next year, wrote an opinion essay on Monday urging lawmakers to boost pay for teachers and certified staff by $10,000 over the next five years.

He’s also eying an overhaul of teacher pay scales, noting they aren’t eligible for salary increases beyond 21 years of service, meaning “they may go a decade or more without receiving a raise.”

The average starting teacher salary last year in Georgia is $43,654, according to the National Education Association, which it says is 35th nationally. The average salary for all public school teachers in Georgia is $67,641, according to the NEA, which is tops in the South.

Wood’s proposal would likely need to be funded through the state’s funding formula. That formula does not cover the entire salaries for teachers, which could put pressure on districts to raise salaries at a time their budgets are stretched thin.

Backup

Republican Jim Kingston is running for a seat in the U.S. House representing the 1st Congressional District in Georgia. (Courtesy photo)

Republican Jim Kingston picked up a pair of key endorsements this week in his bid to succeed U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter in Georgia’s 1st Congressional District.

U.S. Rep. Tom Emmer of Minnesota, the No. 3 House Republican, said in a social media post Monday that Kingston will “fight along President Trump and Make America Great Again.”

And U.S. Rep. Rich McCormick of Suwanee added his endorsement on Tuesday, making him one of the first prominent Georgia Republicans to take sides in the race.

Listen up

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Michael Thurmond spoke to the AJC's Tia Mitchell during a Politically Georgia event in Atlanta earlier this month. (Adam Beam/AJC)

Today on the “Politically Georgia” podcast we sort through President Donald Trump’s break with U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Rome. Then, you’ll hear an interview with Democratic candidate for governor Michael Thurmond recorded during our recent forum.

You can listen and subscribe to Politically Georgia for free an Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Have a question or comment for the show? Email us at politicallygeorgia@ajc.com or give us a call at 770-810-5297 and you could be featured on a future episode.

Today in Washington

• President Donald Trump is meeting at the White House with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia.
• The House is expected to vote on legislation that would require the Justice Department to release files related to the investigation of accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, who died in 2019.
• The Senate will vote to advance one of Trump’s nominees.

Lisa Cook’s defense

Lisa Cook, a member of the Federal Reserve Board, attended an event at the Brookings Institution in Washington earlier this month. (Mark Schiefelbein/AP)

Lawyers for Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, a Georgia native, say that the Trump administration’s allegation that she committed fraud is based on a single reference in a mortgage application that amounts to nothing more than a small error.

This defense is contained in a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi and is Cook’s first public response to the criminal referral by Federal Housing Finance Agency director Bill Pulte.

The 2021 mortgage document contained one portion that was “plainly innocuous in light of the several other truthful and more specific disclosures” about the homes she has purchased, according to the letter as reported by The Associated Press.

“There is no fraud, no intent to deceive, nothing whatsoever criminal or remotely a basis to allege mortgage fraud,” the lawyers wrote.

President Donald Trump has sought to remove Cook as a Fed governor based on Pulte’s allegations. But the Supreme Court put her firing on hold while her lawsuit is pending. Court arguments have been scheduled for January.

Shoutouts

Today’s birthday:

• Amy Morton, Macon-based political strategist and owner of Southern Majority consulting firm.