Republican Rep. Thomas Massie has skewered Donald Trump with a savage impression on the eve of the most expensive House primary in American history.
Massie, 55, has spent five years as one of the most reliable thorns in Trump’s side. He voted against the president’s signature “One Big Beautiful Bill,” led the bipartisan charge to release the Jeffrey Epstein files, and slammed Trump’s joint U.S.-Israel war on Iran. On Tuesday, Massie faces Trump-backed Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein and an eye-watering deluge of pro-Israel money attempting to flush him out of Congress.
Addressing supporters at a Florence, Kentucky, rally on Saturday—flanked by fellow GOP rebels Rep. Lauren Boebert, Sen. Rand Paul, and Rep. Victoria Spartz—the libertarian congressman channeled his inner Trump to mock the 79-year-old president’s furious bid to oust him.
“I even flew Air Force One to Kentucky. I called Congressman Massie a horrible legislator, even a horrible human being. Third rate, third rate. And they don’t know what went wrong,” Massie boomed, mimicking Trump’s distinctive speaking style, to hoots of laughter from his audience.
The contest for Kentucky’s 4th congressional district has ballooned into a $32 million slugfest—the priciest race for a U.S. House seat ever recorded, according to ad tracker AdImpact.
The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and other pro-Israel groups have poured more than $9 million into trying to unseat the seven-term Kentuckian. A super PAC tied to Trump’s political operation—run by senior adviser Chris LaCivita—has spent close to $7 million. Hedge fund billionaire Paul Singer kicked in $1 million, while a super PAC linked to casino billionaire Miriam Adelson gave another $750,000.
Continuing to impersonate Trump, Massie said to more laughter: “I’m gonna name, uh, Chris LaCivita. Yeah. Get out of here. Go grift somewhere else. Go back to working for Miriam Adelson on the Democrat side.”
Returning to his own voice, Massie quipped, “I can’t wait for May 19. It’s gonna be so great. You know, just in case I lose, they gave me the number to call to concede... the area code is Tel Aviv, though.”
One of the reasons for the all-out blitz against Massie is—in the words of AIPAC super PAC spokesperson Patrick Dorton—he is “the most anti-Israel Republican in the House.” Massie is a libertarian who has voted against U.S. aid to Israel, trashed the Iran war, and last Thursday unveiled a bill that would compel AIPAC to register as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.
“My opponent wouldn’t even be out of the starting blocks if it weren’t for that money,” Massie told Politico. He told ABC’s This Week on Sunday the race had become a “referendum on whether Israel gets to buy seats in Congress.”
AIPAC spokesperson Deryn Sousa accused Massie of trying to “demonize” the group’s Kentucky members. Trump—who has called Massie a “moron,” a “sleazebag,” and “the Worst Republican Congressman in History”—posted on Truth Social on Sunday: “Kentucky, vote the bum out on Tuesday.”
Polling has been bitterly split. A Quantus Insights survey released Wednesday put Gallrein ahead by 8 percentage points. A Big Data Poll released Friday had Massie up by one.
The Daily Beast has contacted the White House and AIPAC for comment. White House spokesman Davis Ingle said that Massie had voted against middle-class tax cuts, border wall funding, “kicking illegals off of taxpayer-funded Medicaid benefits,” as well as other policies in Trump’s Make America Great Again agenda. He added: “Thomas Massie cares more about peacocking for his radical Democrat friends and liberal media allies than delivering for the men and women of Kentucky’s 4th district.”
