How Marjorie Taylor Greene Wound Up In Controversy Over A Birthday Post For Her Son

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has had her share of embarrassing moments over the years. Some were merely verbal bloopers — such as seemingly saying "peach tree dish" for "petri dish" and "gazpacho police" instead of "Gestapo." Other times, the controversial Georgia congresswoman was publicly roasted for her outrageous conspiracy theory claims ("Jewish space lasers," anyone?). Greene's messy public feuds on the House floor are another source of cringe. But one misstep in particular stands out because it involved her own son.

Derek Greene, Marjorie's third child and only son with her ex Perry Greene, turned 22 on April 5, 2025. That day, a photo of mom and son appeared on Marjorie's X feed, along with an odd message: "It's my baby boy's birthday!! He's 22!! I love him so much! Buy him a beer!" This was followed by a live link to Derek's Venmo account. According to the New York Post, the post was not live for long and was swiftly removed, but the exact reason is unknown. Did a hacker, or Derek himself, get into her account and send the message as a prank? Or did Marjorie actually write it and then had a change of heart? Politicians ask their constituents for money all the time, but it's usually for their campaign expenses, and definitely not for a stash of Budweiser.

Of course, nothing online is ever totally lost. HuffPost writer Yashar Ali was just one of a number of reporters who reposted an image of Marjorie's post on X, much to the disgust of followers. One commenter said, "Just when you think you've seen all types and forms of grifting ... MTG switches things up with requesting you buy cold ones for her kid!"

Although we don't often hear about Marjorie Taylor Greene's three children, Derek Greene was a topic of criticism long before the birthday fund request. In November 2023, Marjorie posted a photo on Instagram showing Derek in the woods posing with a deer he'd just killed. She declared herself "so proud of my son," but followers begged to differ. Some were outraged at the thought of showing off a dead animal. Critics also called out Derek for using a powerful assault rifle to bring down a small deer and for not wearing the required orange safety hunting vest.

Refusing to be cowed over a deer, Marjorie fought back on X, scolding commenters for their "hateful uneducated" criticisms. She explained she had personally asked Derek to get some venison for Thanksgiving dinner and that, being a good son, he had complied. Marjorie then declared that, "Hunting and Farming are literally basic national security for every country on Earth," and that more young people should learn these "basic life skills" in case the worst should happen and mankind could no longer rely on supermarkets and food delivery services. "We must fix this because our future ability to survive may depend on it," she said. The argument didn't sway her detractors, who snarked at the idea of a well-paid politician acting as though she couldn't afford a holiday meal any other way. 

A Greene family social media post that didn't cause a stir was Lauren Greene's birthday tribute to her mom in May 2025. She called Marjorie "a treasure to our family — and to America," but thankfully didn't ask anyone to contribute to that treasure chest.