All posts tagged "thomas massie"

New polling suggests Trump's bid to oust rogue Republican is failing

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), one of President Donald Trump's most vocal critics on Capitol Hill, was leading in his primary election to maintain his seat in Congress.

The rebel Republican has targeted Trump and his administration in a push to seek justice for survivors of Jeffrey Epstein and a new poll from Quantus Insights released Thursday showed that Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District race had Massie ahead by nine points, with more than 46 percent of support compared to Trump-endorsed candidate Ed Gallrein, who had 37 percent, The Daily Beast reported. Fourteen percent of people polled said they were undecided, and could make a key difference in deciding the primary on May 19.

Trump has been attacking Massie throughout the campaign in deep red MAGA country and spoke on March 11 at a campaign event promoting his support for Gallrein.

"Our polling shows Thomas Massie with a clear advantage in KY-4. He has the stronger ballot position, the deeper reservoir of prior support, and a district electorate that appears more open to independence than simple allegiance politics," Quantus Insights reported.

"While having a less than 10-point lead is not ideal for an incumbent, they noted it’s still a strong position in a two-candidate race," according to The Beast.

Massie's challenger could be facing a tough battle ahead of the primary.

Nearly 50 percent of voters polled in the Kentucky district said they wanted an independent candidate "who stands for his principles, while just 37 percent wanted one who strongly supports Trump," The Beast reported.

"It suggests this is not an electorate looking simply for obedience or alignment. It is an electorate that still has room for a self-willed, independent conservative and that is precisely the identity Massie has cultivated for years," according to Quantus Insights.

'Traitor': Trump's nemesis reveals MAGA insider briefly dumped president after 2016 win

President Donald Trump's nemesis Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) this week dropped a scathing advertisement calling out his opponent Ed Gallrein, who was endorsed by the president, accusing him of having wavering loyalty to Trump.

The vocal Trump critic released the attack ad on Thursday ahead of Kentucky's primary election on May 19, The Bulwark reported. Massie has remained "Congress’s biggest remaining Republican thorn in the president’s side" and worked to release the Epstein Files under the Epstein Files Transparency Act.

"Even as Trump has tried to punish him for his insubordination by standing up a MAGA primary challenger in his district, Massie has seemed unfazed, constantly tweaking the president online with what looks like merry bravado," according to The Bulwark.

The fight to retain his House seat comes as Trump tries to oust Massie, the Kentucky libertarian, by backing Gallrein, who Massie has pointed out might not be as pro-MAGA as he has said. In fact, Massie used the same tactics that his opponent has used against him.

"Yesterday, Massie released an ad hitting his opponent, Ed Gallrein, on exactly the same grounds Gallrein is hitting him—that he’s insufficiently loyal to president Trump," The Bulwark reported. "The ad, which begins with a photo of Massie and Trump smiling side-by-side, accuses Gallrein of switching his party registration to 'independent' after Trump won in 2016, and only switching it back after Joe Biden took office in 2021. 'Woke Eddie Gallrein,' the ad finishes. 'Not just a Trump hater, a Trump traitor.'"

"Obviously, one ad isn’t going to undo Trump’s endorsement and Gallrein’s relentless campaigning on that endorsement, but Massie seems to be hoping he can muddy the waters."

Thomas Massie's new ad opens with a photo of him and Trump (happier days!) and hits Trump-endorsed opponent Ed Gallrein for being a "Trump traitor" — recognition that Massie can't rely on his unique brand alone and has to muddy the waters on his feud with Trump. pic.twitter.com/Q3JGE0NmYD
— Jacob Rubashkin (@JacobRubashkin) March 19, 2026

Trump tried to sabotage nemesis over bid to release Epstein files: report

President Donald Trump was reportedly so hell-bent on trying to stop lawmakers from revealing the relationship he had with Jeffrey Epstein that he tried to poach a Republican enemy's staff.

Trump apparently wanted to stop Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and his team. Massie was pushing legislation to prompt the Department of Justice to release the Epstein files and the trove of documents connected to the late financier and convicted child sex offender, according to The Daily Beast.

The president reportedly aimed to disrupt Massie, who had co-sponsored the legislation with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA).

"As the House moved toward a vote on releasing the Epstein files last summer and fall, the White House and top Trump allies launched an effort to forestall it that lawmakers told me was unprecedented in its intensity and scope," according to The Atlantic.

"Massie called it a '360-pressure campaign,' one felt not just by him and his staff but anyone associated with him," The Atlantic reported. "One tactic he had not experienced before: Some of his key staff members were suddenly offered more prestigious jobs in the Trump administration or more lucrative jobs in the private sector—the idea being that if Massie no longer had a full staff, he couldn’t pursue ambitious legislation."

Massie revealed several situations that caused him to pause.

"Massie recalled asking an employee who, a few weeks before the vote, had received an employment offer that would double his salary: 'Did it ever occur to you that they might be offering you this job to basically make me less effective?' He said the young man sheepishly replied: 'That’s what my mom said.' He turned down the offer and finished writing the bill," according to The Atlantic.

The Republican lawmaker has also signaled that he has felt unsafe during the process to release the files.

"I’ve p---ed off enough billionaires who are clearly amoral people that I might have shortened my expected lifespan,” he told The Atlantic.

GOP congressman pounces after Alex Jones accuses him of Epstein cover-up

MAGA podcaster Alex Jones accused a Republican congressman of a Jeffrey Epstein cover-up, and the lawmaker hit back on Sunday.

Jones, known for spreading right-wing conspiracies online, lashed out at Thomas Massie, who has been at the forefront of the Republican effort to expose files related to the deceased convicted child sex abuser. Specifically, Jones asked Massie to release unredacted Epstein file names he's privy to as an active congressman.

"I want the f------ names," Jones said, specifically calling out Massie. "Massie, you've been in there three weeks, where are the f------- names? Is Massie covering up the names?"

Massie issued an extensive takedown, starting with, "Every member of Congress has the same access to the same files as me. I haven’t watched your video here, but have you addressed the cowards who wouldn’t sign the discharge petition and still won’t go look at the files?"

He went on to say, "I forced the release of every man’s name that I could find in the redactions so far. This includes the Sultan (now resigned) who discussed the torture video with Epstein. I was the one who got that out there. I forced the release of Leslie Wexner’s name in the FBI document that lists him as a coconspirator in a child sex trafficking case."

Going even further, Massie called out AG Pam Bondi.

"I’ve done several interviews and even told Bondi in the hearing that the problems now are (a) the DOJ has files they can’t/won’t unredact for us (they claim they received the documents already redacted), (b) the DOJ made available, but then removed critical files from the database before we could view them… we want to view unredacted because it appears these could have coconspirators' names in them," he wrote, adding, "DOJ hasn’t released every document yet including FD-302s and internal communications about decisions not to investigate."

Offering an explanation, Massie noted, "In some of the emails I tried to view, the sender was a female and possibly a victim, so that could be why myself and other members of Congress haven’t disclosed them... You (or your staff) can post the EFTA# for documents that you believe contain men’s names redacted, and I’ll go look at those documents at DOJ to see if those documents contain men’s names. If the redacted identifier is an email address not associated with a name, I can put the email address back into the DOJ computer as a search term to see if it is associated with a man’s name elsewhere in the documents. This is how I discovered it was the Sultan who Epstein was discussing a torture video with."

Adding an apparent insult, Massie wrote on X, "Try not to be a nenard about this."

‘I’d like to report a murder’: Rebel GOP lawmaker trolls JD Vance over past Epstein posts

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) spent Tuesday morning reviving Vice President JD Vance's old comments on late financier and convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

Massie, who co-authored legislation to push the Department of Justice to release the full Epstein files, pulled up the old posts on X from Vance that revealed the vice president had different thoughts about Epstein in the past. Since the release of more than 3 million documents and materials related to Epstein, Vance has appeared to change his tune about the deceased pedophile's operation and has been criticized for staying mostly quiet on the situation.

Massie has been a frequent critic of President Donald Trump and his administration, including Attorney General Pam Bondi, and House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA). His open criticism of GOP leadership has frustrated Republican leaders who remain committed to supporting Trump.

Vance wrote in a Sept. 4, 2021, post on X:

"Remember when we learned that our wealthiest and most powerful people were connected to a guy who ran a literal child sex trafficking ring? And then that guy died mysteriously in a jail? And now we just don't talk about it."

Massie had this quippy response at 4:20 a.m. ET Tuesday: "Yeah, why is that?"

"Some of us never forgot," he added in a later post on X.

People were quick to notice the early morning posts, divulging their thoughts on the resurfaced comments from Vance.

"Hello 911, i'd like to report a murder this morning," Matt Rein, attorney and influencer and creative partnerships director for The Democrats, wrote on Threads.

"Lmao the fact that Massie wrote that at 4:20am has me dying," user Emilie Brooks wrote on Threads.

"I certainly want to know why the current administration doesn't want to talk about it or why they won't release all the files," veteran Katie Kazoo wrote on X.

"Your silence on the issue is deafening, JD," social media strategist Devin Duke wrote on X.

'DOJ screwed up': Republican lawmaker hits MAGA attorney with blunt fact check

A Republican lawmaker's announcement that he would be on TV this weekend resulted in a public fight with a MAGA lawyer with close ties to the Trump administration.

Rep. Thomas Massie announced Sunday, "I'll be appearing with Martha Raddatz on ABC at 9:23 AM ET. We will discuss AG Bondi’s Judiciary testimony and the latest release of Jeffrey Epstein documents. Tune in!"

Enter former GOP staffer Mike Davis, who has made headlines for his social media comments in the past, and was rumored to be on Trump's list for attorney general. He chimed in, "Yep, sure you will, Massie."

"You are now the useful liberal media darling. Of course, you didn’t have much to say about Epstein during 4 years of Biden," he then added. "But now you can team up with the Democrats on the Epstein hoax. (Did you ever apologize to the 4 men you smeared?)"

Massie responded with a fact check:

"DOJ released the names not me. The names should have been released with context of a line-up, but DOJ screwed up by omitting the context I gave them." He then wrote, "Here’s the tweet," and included a screenshot of the claim.

In a separate comment, Massie added, "History will not be kind to your side of this debate."

Video shows Kentucky Republican 'snatching' mic out of fellow GOP lawmaker's hand at event

A Republican congressman can be seen on video having a microphone yanked out of his hands by a fellow GOP colleague.

Thomas Massie, who also on Saturday accused the Trump admin of hurting Epstein victims with the botched and unlawful files release, went to social media to tell his side of the story. He linked to an article which described how David Osborne, Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives, took the mic aggressively from Massie while the rebel Republican was speaking.

According to the article, Osborne has claimed that it was a matter of timing, and not of beliefs. But Massie claimed that, if Osborne had liked what he was saying at the time, that he wouldn't have "snatched" the mic.

A congressional reporter posted the video of the contested event.

Read the article here (subscription required).

Trump's 'flamethrower' attack on House Republican's new wife backfires after flub

President Donald Trump attempted to hurl an attack on a rebel Republican foe on Monday, but his accusation was actually incorrect.

Trump was complaining about Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY), a vocal critic of Trump, and his new wife in an accusation and was called out for missing a key detail about her.

Trump wrote the following on his Truth Social platform:

"People are saying that Thomas Massie became a Liberal because his new wife, blessed be their marriage, is supposedly a Radical Left 'flamethrower.' This new union all went so fast that maybe he didn’t know what he was getting into but, nevertheless, he is an absolutely terrible and unreliable 'Republican' — Perhaps a RINO, or maybe even worse! Ed Gallrein, a Farmer and War Hero, is running against Massie. He is a HIGH QUALITY individual, and there is no Candidate for Congress that could be better. He is running because he realizes Thomas Massie has been totally disloyal to the President of the United States, and the Republican Party. He never votes for us, he always goes with the Democrats. Thomas Massie is a Complete and Total Disaster, we must make sure he loses, BIG!"

Eric Michael Garcia, Washington Bureau chief at The Independent and MS NOW columnist, posted on Bluesky to set the record straight.

"Trump blames Thomas Massie’s wife for him becoming 'Radical Left ‘flamethrower.' Carolyn Grace Moffa worked for Rand Paul," Garcia wrote.

This wasn't the first time Trump had tried to send Massie a venomous message. After Massie, a widower, announced his new marriage in October, Trump attacked him, rather than congratulate him or send flowers.

At the time, Trump wrote this on Truth Social:

"Did Thomas Massie, sometimes referred to as Rand Paul Jr., because of the fact that he always votes against the Republican Party, get married already??? Boy, that was quick! No wonder the Polls have him at less than an 8% chance of winning the Election. Anyway, have a great life Thomas and (?). His wife will soon find out that she’s stuck with a LOSER!"

Massie, a Libertarian-leaning Republican congressman from Kentucky, has frequently clashed with Trump over various policy issues, including foreign aid, military spending, and government oversight, despite generally supporting Trump's anti-establishment rhetoric. He has been critical of Trump on specific issues such as the spending bills and foreign military assistance, positioning himself as a fiscal conservative who prioritizes constitutional limits on executive power and government spending regardless of which party controls the White House.

Massie, along with his co-sponsor Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA), helped pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act, the legislation that forced the DOJ to release the Epstein files.

He has accused Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche of lying about an effort of several lawmakers to review unredacted Jeffrey Epstein files, an alleged lie that Massie subsequently provided “receipts” to disprove.

'They've given up': GOP member releases tirade against colleagues 'rolling over' for Trump

Some members of the Republican Party have accused the Rules Committee of "rolling over" to make way for Donald Trump's demands.

One member of the GOP claimed there were some bills passed into the House that would not have made it there had it not been for the president's demands. Thomas Massie, an outspoken critic of Trump, told The Independent he was surprised at how stringent some Republican Party members had been when following Trump's orders.

He said, "I thought I'd have some other people occasionally when he deviated from his promises. I mean, my colleagues here are increasingly being forced to choose between President Trump and President Trump's promises, and so far, they've chose President Trump but not his promises."

Specifically on Rules Committee members Chip Roy and Ralph Norman, Massie said, "I'm kind of disappointed with what's going on there."

"There's three conservatives who were supposed to make things happen, and they seem to have given up on that effort, and the rules committee, that's totally gone."

The Rules Committee is currently led by Virginia Foxx, and was previously run by Republican Party members Tom Cole and Michael Burgess.

Disgruntlements within the GOP come as Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman suggests it would take just eight defectors in the party to sever Trump's strong grip on power.

He wrote, "What can we say about the cowardly Republicans in Congress, who are still sustaining Trump even though many of them – perhaps most of them – are privately appalled by his behavior?"

"It would take just eight of these people — four Republican senators and four Republican House members — to switch sides and caucus with the Democrats to end GOP control of Congress and eliminate much of Trump’s power."

"But taking such a step would mean risking Trump’s wrath by standing up and acting like patriots, rather than knuckling down and averting their eyes as Trump descends into madness."

'Scuttlebutt' suggests Mike Johnson is about to lose House majority: MS Now analyst

Rumors have surfaced that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is anticipated to lose the GOP's House majority, an MS Now analyst reported Wednesday.

After the unexpected death of Rep. Doug LaMalfa (R-CA) and serious car crash involving Rep. Jim Baird (R-IN), who was hospitalized and expected to recover — but will not be available for upcoming votes — the Republican majority is hanging in the balance, according to Steve Benen, producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show."

"LaMalfa’s death leaves House Speaker Mike Johnson with a 218-member conference — in a chamber where 218 is the bare minimum for a majority," Benen explained.

Even President Donald Trump is worried. He addressed the Republican party over concerns about losing the narrow majority Tuesday, also telling GOP lawmakers his prediction that he could be impeached if they lose the midterms in November.

But that's not the only concern among Republicans. After Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's (R-GA) resignation Monday, plus Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) often voting against his party's initiatives, other murmurs of exits have surfaced.

"What’s more, conditions for the majority party are likely to get worse before they get better, Benen wrote. "While Greene and LaMalfa are likely to be replaced by Republicans, the special elections to fill their vacancies are still months away. On the other hand, later this month, voters will replace the late Democratic Rep. Sylvester Turner in one of Texas’ bluest districts, increasing the Democratic conference to 214 members and narrowing the House GOP’s advantage even more."

The stakes have become higher for the GOP now more than ever. And for Johnson, this could present even more challenges.

"Hanging overhead, meanwhile, is recent scuttlebutt that other current House Republicans, including New York’s Elise Stefanik and South Carolina’s Nancy Mace, are weighing possible resignations before their terms end," according to Benen.

"By any fair measure, 2025 was exceedingly difficult for Johnson and his fellow House GOP leaders. There are fresh reasons to believe 2026 will be worse."