Trump aims to terminate the career of this GOP maverick. He's not too worried.
Rep. Thomas Massie has experienced similar situations in the past: “It’ll blow over.”
TroibNews 
President Donald Trump has historically wielded significant influence over Republican lawmakers with just a single online post, often bringing GOP members in line at the mere suggestion that he might announce someone "SHOULD BE PRIMARIED.” However, Rep. Thomas Massie stands out as an exception.
The 54-year-old former robotics engineer dismissed Trump's recent threat, even as the president pledged to “lead the charge” against him for opposing a spending bill endorsed by Trump and the House Republican leadership. Addressing reporters on Tuesday, Massie reacted to the threat with a wry smile and quipped, “He’s going after Canada and me today. The difference is Canada will eventually cave.”
Massie's relaxed response is backed by history. Five years ago, Trump employed similar rhetoric after Massie compelled his colleagues to return to Washington to vote in person on a Covid-19 response bill during the early days of the pandemic in March 2020. Trump branded Massie a “third-rate grandstander” and suggested he should be expelled from the Republican Party. Nevertheless, Massie successfully fended off a primary challenge afterward, partly because his opponent had a record of racist social media posts.
After the spending bill’s passage on Tuesday, Massie remarked that it “feels just like” the day he opposed the pandemic legislation, adding that the “missives directed at me weren’t to get me to change my vote — I never change my vote. I think they were to try and keep the other Republicans in line until they get this over to the Senate.”
In a subsequent post, Trump referred to Massie as a “grandstander,” placing “Congressman” in quotation marks.
Since defying the last MAGA effort, Massie has enhanced his reputation as a maverick within the party. He secured a position on the House Rules Committee through a deal with hard-right members and later opposed McCarthy’s successor, Mike Johnson, actively seeking his replacement when Congress reconvened in January. Amid these political upheavals, Massie also faced personal tragedy with the passing of his high school sweetheart and wife, Rhonda. He recently told the Wall Street Journal, "I don't know how to say this without cussing, if they thought I had no Fs to give before, I definitely have no Fs to give now.”
On Tuesday, Massie took to social media to call out Trump's attack as “misleading,” but he refrained from directly accusing the president, stating it was simply a “tweet from Trump’s account.” He clarified that he believed the House legislation he opposed did not align with “Trump’s agenda.”
In a conversation, Massie expressed that he thrived on criticism from Trump, stating, “I had the Trump antibodies for a while — I needed a booster.”
However, it remains uncertain whether Massie will escape the full brunt of Trump’s political ire this time. During his 2020 race, Trump largely stayed out of Massie's campaign and subsequently endorsed him in 2022 as a “conservative warrior.” This latest attack by Trump was preceded by negative remarks from top Trump strategist Chris LaCivita, suggesting a potentially more organized effort to unseat Massie.
Beyond his stance on the spending bill, there are other motivations behind Trump and his allies targeting Massie: he was one of six Congressional members to endorse Ron DeSantis' presidential campaign. Another member, Rep. Bob Good, faced ousting after Trump backed a challenger against him in a close primary last year.
Massie retains support from libertarian-leaning, anti-spending Republicans who emerged from the tea party movement and have aligned with MAGA principles. Several colleagues, including Sen. Mike Lee, came to his defense, with Lee stating that Massie “has worked harder than perhaps any member of Congress to bring federal spending under control.”
Johnson offered subdued support for Massie, saying, “Look, I'm in the incumbent protection program here. Thomas and I have had disagreements, but I consider Thomas Massie a friend. I just vehemently disagree with his position,” he acknowledged.
The pivotal question now is whether Trump will act on his political threats. Doubts arise from past instances where Trump has threatened primary challenges against other dissenting Republicans, like Rep. Chip Roy, without following through with endorsements. Historically, Trump has shown a tendency to forget grievances when it comes to Capitol Hill.
Massie seems cognizant of this possibility, responding to inquiries about whether Trump would hold a lasting grudge with, “It’ll blow over.”
Contributions to this report were made by Meredith Lee Hill and Jennifer Scholtes.
Frederick R Cook for TROIB News
The 54-year-old former robotics engineer dismissed Trump's recent threat, even as the president pledged to “lead the charge” against him for opposing a spending bill endorsed by Trump and the House Republican leadership. Addressing reporters on Tuesday, Massie reacted to the threat with a wry smile and quipped, “He’s going after Canada and me today. The difference is Canada will eventually cave.”
Massie's relaxed response is backed by history. Five years ago, Trump employed similar rhetoric after Massie compelled his colleagues to return to Washington to vote in person on a Covid-19 response bill during the early days of the pandemic in March 2020. Trump branded Massie a “third-rate grandstander” and suggested he should be expelled from the Republican Party. Nevertheless, Massie successfully fended off a primary challenge afterward, partly because his opponent had a record of racist social media posts.
After the spending bill’s passage on Tuesday, Massie remarked that it “feels just like” the day he opposed the pandemic legislation, adding that the “missives directed at me weren’t to get me to change my vote — I never change my vote. I think they were to try and keep the other Republicans in line until they get this over to the Senate.”
In a subsequent post, Trump referred to Massie as a “grandstander,” placing “Congressman” in quotation marks.
Since defying the last MAGA effort, Massie has enhanced his reputation as a maverick within the party. He secured a position on the House Rules Committee through a deal with hard-right members and later opposed McCarthy’s successor, Mike Johnson, actively seeking his replacement when Congress reconvened in January. Amid these political upheavals, Massie also faced personal tragedy with the passing of his high school sweetheart and wife, Rhonda. He recently told the Wall Street Journal, "I don't know how to say this without cussing, if they thought I had no Fs to give before, I definitely have no Fs to give now.”
On Tuesday, Massie took to social media to call out Trump's attack as “misleading,” but he refrained from directly accusing the president, stating it was simply a “tweet from Trump’s account.” He clarified that he believed the House legislation he opposed did not align with “Trump’s agenda.”
In a conversation, Massie expressed that he thrived on criticism from Trump, stating, “I had the Trump antibodies for a while — I needed a booster.”
However, it remains uncertain whether Massie will escape the full brunt of Trump’s political ire this time. During his 2020 race, Trump largely stayed out of Massie's campaign and subsequently endorsed him in 2022 as a “conservative warrior.” This latest attack by Trump was preceded by negative remarks from top Trump strategist Chris LaCivita, suggesting a potentially more organized effort to unseat Massie.
Beyond his stance on the spending bill, there are other motivations behind Trump and his allies targeting Massie: he was one of six Congressional members to endorse Ron DeSantis' presidential campaign. Another member, Rep. Bob Good, faced ousting after Trump backed a challenger against him in a close primary last year.
Massie retains support from libertarian-leaning, anti-spending Republicans who emerged from the tea party movement and have aligned with MAGA principles. Several colleagues, including Sen. Mike Lee, came to his defense, with Lee stating that Massie “has worked harder than perhaps any member of Congress to bring federal spending under control.”
Johnson offered subdued support for Massie, saying, “Look, I'm in the incumbent protection program here. Thomas and I have had disagreements, but I consider Thomas Massie a friend. I just vehemently disagree with his position,” he acknowledged.
The pivotal question now is whether Trump will act on his political threats. Doubts arise from past instances where Trump has threatened primary challenges against other dissenting Republicans, like Rep. Chip Roy, without following through with endorsements. Historically, Trump has shown a tendency to forget grievances when it comes to Capitol Hill.
Massie seems cognizant of this possibility, responding to inquiries about whether Trump would hold a lasting grudge with, “It’ll blow over.”
Contributions to this report were made by Meredith Lee Hill and Jennifer Scholtes.
Frederick R Cook for TROIB News
