Targeted by Trump, Republican Rep. Thomas Massie hauls in campaign cash
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., announced on Thursday that his campaign has hauled in $177,394 in recent days.
"Will lobbyists for a FOREIGN country be able to buy a seat in Congress? That's the question in my re-election. 1,900 of you donated $177,394 this week to make sure I can hold this office to represent American interests, not foreign interests," the congressman noted in a Thursday post on his campaign X account.
The flood of financial support for the fiscal hawk came after President Donald Trump repeatedly targeted the lawmaker on Truth Social.
"The biggest impact of Trump getting involved on the other side of a race is usually diminished fund raising. In my case, we're seeing the opposite effect," Massie told Fox News Digital in a statement on Thursday.
"Most of the people donating to me also support Trump, but they strongly believe Congressmen should be able to vote to represent their districts instead of being a rubber stamp for the President or beholden to foreign interest groups like AIPAC," he added, referring to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.
Trump Campaign Unleashes Pac To Oust Gop Congressman Who Questioned Authority To Strike Iran
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The pro-Israel group returned fire in a statement to Fox News Digital on Thursday.
"Rep. Massie is so desperate to change the story from how he is an outspoken opponent of President Trump, that he is resorting to outrageously questioning the patriotism of millions of American citizens who are AIPAC members, including U.S. Veterans and more than 10,000 of his own constituents,' AIPAC's Marshall Wittmann asserted. "While the overwhelming majority of Americans support a strong U.S.-Israel relationship, Rep. Massie regularly votes with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Bernie Sanders to undermine our partnership with Israel."
Massie fired back, writing to Fox News Digital, "The AIPAC agenda includes endless foreign aid and US involvement in wars in the Middle-East, which contradicts the America first policies I support on behalf of Kentuckians. That's why they spent $400,000 against me last election cycle, and why they threaten to spend more this cycle."
Massie, who was one of the two Republicans to vote against passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act in the House last month, labeled Trump's strikes against the Islamic Republic of Iran as "not Constitutional" in a post on X last week.
Trump Pressures Congress To Pass 'Big, Beautiful Bill,' Insisting 'No One Goes On Vacation Until It's Done'
The president excoriated Massie in a lengthy Truth Social post on Sunday, calling the congressman a "pathetic LOSER."
"The good news is that we will have a wonderful American Patriot running against him in the Republican Primary, and I'll be out in Kentucky campaigning really hard," Trump declared.
The president re-posted his anti-Massie tirade on Monday and commented, "GET THIS 'BUM' OUT OF OFFICE, ASAP!!!"
Massie Reveals How Much Campaign Cash He's Hauled In Since Trump Targeted Him For Ouster: 'Fundraising Record'
Then on Tuesday, the president once again targeted Massie, claiming in a Truth Social post that the congressman is "very bad for the Constitution."
Massie pointed to Trump's 2022 statement endorsing him. "For those who want to know what @realDonaldTrump really thinks of me, this should clear things up…" the lawmaker wrote in a Tuesday post on X.Original article source: Targeted by Trump, Republican Rep. Thomas Massie hauls in campaign cash
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