Trump threatens opponent against Massie, calls him ‘Rand Paul Junior’
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President Donald Trump slammed Republican Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie for his opposition to the “big, beautiful bill” as the massive piece of legislation cleared one of its final hurdles Tuesday before it’s anticipated to land on Trump’s desk by the Fourth of July deadline.
Trump told the media from Air Force One that he predicts Massie will be “history” come primary season.
“He’s going to have an opponent,” Trump told the media from Air Force One Tuesday afternoon of Massie’s upcoming primary next year. “He’s going to have a big opponent, a good opponent, who’s going to win. A poll just came out, and it showed anybody I endorse against Massie, Massie loses by 25 points. So he’s he’s gonna be history I think.
“I just don’t think he does a good job for the country. He’s always a no. I call him ‘Rand Paul Junior,’” Trump continued, referring to Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul’s opposition to the “big beautiful bill.” “He’s always a no. Nothing constructive at all, at all, I mean, just terrible. Thomas Massie from Kentucky, and nothing constructive. I don’t think he’s a very smart guy.”
TRUMP PRESSURES CONGRESS TO PASS ‘BIG, BEAUTIFUL BILL,’ INSISTING ‘NO ONE GOES ON VACATION UNTIL IT’S DONE’
President Donald Trump predicted Rep. Thomas Massie is “history” come primary season. (Win McNamee/pool/AFP via Getty Images; Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)
Trump spoke to the media after landing back in the nation’s capital following a short trip to the Florida Everglades to tour a new illegal immigrant detention center dubbed “Alligator Alcatraz.” The Senate passed the “big, beautiful bill” while Trump was speaking at a roundtable at the detention center.
Trump had rallied Republican lawmakers to pass the budget reconciliation bill since his inauguration, celebrating that it will advance his agenda on taxes, immigration, energy, defense and the national debt. The vast majority of Republican lawmakers voted in support of various versions of the bill, while a handful of Republicans such as Massie, Paul, North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis and Maine Sen. Susan Collins rejected supporting the legislation’s passage.
Massie, specifically, bucked supporting the legislation when it was in the House earlier in 2025 by citing it would add $20 trillion of federal debt over 10 years.
MUSK AGREES WITH MASSIE THAT BILL IS ‘DEBT BOMB TICKING’ AND ‘MISSED OPPORTUNITY’ FOR CONSERVATIVES
Congress is in the midst of negotiating Trump’s “big beautiful bill” ahead of the Fourth of July deadline. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)
“I’d love to stand here and tell the American people, ‘We can cut your taxes and increase spending and everything is going to be just fine.’ But I can’t do that because I’m here to deliver a dose of reality,” Massie said on the House floor in May. “This bill dramatically increases deficits in the near-term, but promises our government will be fiscally responsible five years from now. Where have we heard that before?”
MASSIE CALLS ON ELON MUSK TO FUND PRIMARY CHALLENGES AGAINST REPUBLICANS WHO BACKED TRUMP TAX BILL
As the bill made its way through both chambers, former Trump ally and special government employee Elon Musk aligned himself with lawmakers such as Massie and Paul in their legislation criticisms. Musk reinvigorated his feud with Trump Monday, including vowing on X that he would work to unseat lawmakers if they vote in support of Trump’s bill.
President Trump talks to the media about former ally Elon Musk outside of the White House. (Getty Images)
“Anyone who campaigned on the PROMISE of REDUCING SPENDING , but continues to vote on the BIGGEST DEBT ceiling increase in HISTORY will see their face on this poster in the primary next year,” Musk posted to X Monday evening.
The message was accompanied by an image of Pinocchio sitting on fire and the caption, “LIAR Voted to increase America’s DEBT by 5,000,000,000.00”
Musk added in an X post that he plans to support Massie’s re-election campaign.
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Trump added in his remarks from Air Force One that he does not “think about” Massie when asked if he’s trying to make an example of the lawmaker.
“I don’t think about him,” Trump said. “When I oppose somebody, I oppose somebody. And for some reason, the voters almost always seem to go along with me because they know I’m working hard. I have a nice high IQ. They like that. They like high-IQ people, but they know I make good decisions.”
Massie’s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on Trump’s remarks.