President Donald Trump’s political allies have launched a full-scale campaign to oust Republican Congressman Thomas Massie, whose repeated clashes with Trump have placed him in the crosshairs of the MAGA movement. According to Axios, a new super PAC named MAGA Kentucky will begin airing its first attack ad against Massie on Friday.
The 30-second spot accuses the Kentucky Republican of betraying conservative values and opposing Trump’s legislative priorities. “What happened to Thomas Massie?” the ad begins, before claiming he sided with Democrats and Iran’s supreme leader, Ali Khamenei, after Trump “obliterated Iran’s nuclear weapons program.”
The ad buy, totaling $1 million, will target GOP voters in Kentucky through Fox News and local stations in Cincinnati and Louisville. The campaign will also include a strong digital presence to reach Republican audiences online. The PAC’s website urges voters to “Join President Trump and Fire Thomas Massie,” accusing the lawmaker of having “betrayed Kentucky conservatives.”
A spokesperson for Massie has not responded to media requests for comment.
The rift between Trump and Massie widened recently after the congressman criticized Trump’s decision to authorize strikes on Iran amid rising tensions in the Middle East. In a statement Sunday, Massie said, “We are exhausted. We are tired of all of these wars, and we’re non-interventionists. I mean, this was one of the promises. I mean, are you going to call President Trump’s campaign an isolationist campaign? What he promised us was, we would put America first.”
Trump quickly fired back on Truth Social, distancing himself from the Kentucky representative. “Congressman Thomas Massie of Kentucky is not MAGA, even though he likes to say he is,” Trump wrote. “Actually, MAGA doesn’t want him, doesn’t know him, and doesn’t respect him.”
“He is a negative force who almost always Votes ‘NO,’ no matter how good something may be,” Trump added, vowing to campaign in Kentucky for a primary challenger. “There will be a wonderful American Patriot running against Massie in next year’s Republican primary.”
The animosity between Trump and Massie is not new. Massie was one of only two House Republicans to vote against Trump’s much-touted “Big Beautiful Bill,” a move that earned him praise from Elon Musk and further ire from Trump.
Despite the fallout, Massie reminded his followers this week that Trump once endorsed him. “For those who want to know what @realDonaldTrump really thinks of me, this should clear things up,” he posted on X, alongside a screenshot of a 2022 endorsement calling him “a conservative warrior” and “first-rate defender of the Constitution.” The battle lines are now drawn as Massie faces increasing pressure from the MAGA movement and prepares for what promises to be a contentious primary in 2026.