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President Donald Trump has threatened to take down Rep. Thomas Massie before. Now he’s trying again, at the peak of his power in the GOP — and might even succeed this time.
It all depends on how much effort Trump and his allies want to put into finding a worthy opponent for the Kentucky Republican congressman — and whether it’s worth the effort ahead of a 2026 midterm campaign that will surely threaten Republicans’ control of the House.
Massie provoked Trump last week by casting the lone Republican vote against the party’s government funding plan, sending the president to social media to declare that “HE SHOULD BE PRIMARIED.” Since then, Trump’s former co-campaign manager has taunted Massie, as the eccentric yet popular Kentuckian revealed his fundraising totals have spiked.
Trump has vowed to topple GOP lawmakers before, with varying degrees of ultimate investment — and success. He backed a successful challenger to former Rep. Bob Good, the onetime Freedom Caucus chair who initially endorsed Trump rival Ron DeSantis in 2024.
But the party’s ranks are peppered with incumbents, from Rep. Laurel Lee to now-Senate Majority Leader John Thune, who’ve drawn Trump’s wrath and later earned his favor (or who defeated the foe he backed, like Sen. Lisa Murkowski). And unlike in 2020, there is a more serious behind-the-scenes push to find a challenger well ahead of the primary.
“The difference this time: the best candidate will be recruited locally,” a person familiar with the push to oust Massie told Semafor, adding that the congressman’s critics don’t want him to be able to say his primary challenger was ”‘handpicked’ in Washington.”
Although Massie hasn’t faced the full might of Trump’s base in a primary before, his objections to a pandemic aid bill in 2020 caused the then-president to say he should be evicted from the Republican Party. Massie drew a primary opponent that year, Todd McMurtry, who he easily defeated; he criticized McMurtry for “alt-right” social media posts.
This time around, Massie’s adversaries hope a better recruit, with Trump’s endorsement and financial backing, might increase their chances of beating him.
But the incumbent doesn’t sound worried about an onslaught that he said has shown off his independence from Trump and boosted his conservative cred.
“The accusation they’re making against me actually reinforces the base that I have in Kentucky,” Massie told Semafor. “So what they do is, they try to run ‘to the Trump’ of me, instead of to the right of me.”
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Another person familiar with the push to defeat Massie said his foes’ ideal candidate would hail from the district and have crossover appeal to MAGA loyalists, as well as to Reagan-era Republicans disenchanted with Massie’s libertarian leanings.
If there’s an attempt to primary the 54-year-old Massie, Trump will likely have allies against him. The Republican Jewish Coalition has vowed to join Trump in supporting an intraparty opponent, a sign of frustration with Massie’s resistance to what he has called excessive US support for Israel.
And the American Israel Public Affairs Committee has already vowed to spend against Massie if he tries to run for retiring Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell’s seat. (Massie hasn’t publicly aired any interest in that campaign.)
A big wild card is Trump himself, and whether he might change his mind again about Massie. The president endorsed Massie in 2022, when his primary challenger didn’t break 16%, before later turning on him this year.
“Massie is formidable, even with Trump and others having him in their crosshairs,” former Kentucky secretary of state Trey Grayson, who lost a GOP primary to Massie ally Sen. Rand Paul in 2010, told Semafor.
“This is obviously the best opportunity for someone to run against him, but it’s still a big challenge,” Grayson added.
Kadia’s view
The question isn’t whether Trump wants Massie gone but whether he’ll throw the full weight of his power against a fellow Republican while juggling so many other priorities. Trump may simply care more about the heavy lift of getting his agenda through the House than ending Massie’s career.
And it’s not like Massie’s vote against the funding bill was a surprise. He opposed the GOP leadership’s preferred budget and stood firm as the only no vote on House Speaker Mike Johnson’s reelection in January.
Love him or hate him, Massie sticks to his positions. That has earned him respect in the Republican conference, as well as plenty of pro-Trump friends.
Room for Disagreement
If you ask Massie, Trump isn’t even necessarily serious about supporting a primary opponent.
Why? Because the congressman, no matter how obstreperous he may be when it comes to defying leadership, is a proven winner.
“He doesn’t like to back losers,” Massie said. “And so even though he’s saying he would get in the race against me … I think it was more of a threat than a promise.”