Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) vowed that President Trump’s threats to primary him will “backfire tremendously” and ultimately lead to Republicans losing their House majority in the 2026 midterms.
“Well, they’ve spent $1.8 million against me so far in my congressional district. I think it has had very little effect, but they are trying to beat up on me to keep everyone else in line here and I think it is not working. I think what’s going to happen, this will be a referendum on whether the executive branch controls the legislative branch,” Massie said during a Tuesday interview with NBC News.
“I am going to prevail. What they are going to find out is it will embolden members of Congress here to go with their heart, with their minds, with their constituents and not just toe the party line,” Massie told NBC’s Sahil Kapur.
Trump’s political operation has launched a targeted campaign seeking to oust Massie, who has regularly criticized the administration and refused to support its legislative agenda.
Kapur asked Massie if he thought the president’s effort “will backfire in the next two years.”
“I think it’s going to backfire tremendously,” Massie said. “Number one, I think they are wasting millions of dollars against me and they are going to lose the majority because of that, but number two, I think it will embolden Republicans who are right now quietly agreeing with me, but saying ‘I am afraid of winning my primary, let’s see if you can win yours, Massie.’”
Trump called the Kentucky lawmaker the “worst Republican Congressman, and an almost guaranteed NO VOTE each and every time … an Embarrassment to Kentucky” in a Monday night post on Truth Social, linking to an anti-Massie ad released by the pro-Trump PAC MAGA Kentucky.
“He’s lazy, slow moving, and totally disingenuous – A real loser! Never has anything positive to add. Looking for someone good to run against this guy, someone I can Endorse and vigorously campaign for.”
Massie was one of two House Republicans who voted against the president’s “big, beautiful bill” and previously denounced the U.S. military strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities on June 21, earning him rebukes from Trump and his allies.
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) stopped short on Tuesday of endorsing Massie, saying “bless his heart” when asked about his push for a bipartisan measure calling for the release of files related to the late Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender and disgraced financier.
“Some people seem to enjoy trying to inflict political pain on their own teammates. I’m not going to address anybody individually, but I’ll tell you that some here are much more frustrated than others,” Johnson said during a press conference on Tuesday.
“One in particular just gives me lots of consternation. I don’t understand. I don’t understand Thomas Massie’s motivation, I really don’t,” the House Speaker added. “I don’t know how his mind works, I don’t know what he’s thinking.”
Updated: 4:47 p.m.
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