Latest news with #MAGAKY
Politico
01-08-2025
- Politics
- Politico
Donors to Trump allies' anti-Massie super PAC revealed
GOP megadonor Paul Singer was the largest donor to a super PAC seeking to oust Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) last month, according to a filing submitted to the Federal Election Commission on Thursday. The group, MAGA KY, raised $2 million between its launch in late June and the end of the month: $1 million from Singer $250,000 from hedge fund manager John Paulson $750,000 from Preserve America PAC, a super PAC tied to Miriam Adelson that backed President Donald Trump last year Trump allies launched the super PAC last month after Massie voted against Trump's signature 'Big, Beautiful Bill.' The Kentucky lawmaker has also criticized the president on a range of other issues including war powers and the Epstein files. MAGA KY has spent $1.2 million so far on ads opposing Massie, according to AdImpact, as the group aims to take him out in next year's primary. Massie, who has staved off primary challengers before, has raised just over $1 million this year, and he ended June with $1.7 million in the bank. It is not yet clear which Republican might be favored by Trump to challenge him.
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump allies begin hitting Massie with attack ads over opposition to agenda
A super PAC aligned with President Donald Trump has launched an attack ad targeting Kentucky Republican Rep. Thomas Massie after his series of high-profile breaks with the administration, including opposition to a landmark policy bill and criticism of strikes against Iran. 'What happened to Thomas Massie,' the ad begins, ticking through a list of conservative policy priorities that it says Massie voted against, a broad reference to Massie's opposition to the sprawling Republican policy bill making its way through Congress. Massie cited concerns over spending levels and deficits in his vote against the 'big, beautiful bill,' as it's been dubbed by Republicans. The ad also hammers Massie explicitly over his opposition to the administration's decision to strike Iran's nuclear facilities over the weekend, encouraging voters to 'fire Thomas Massie.' The ad presents a high-profile example of Trump leveraging his powerful political network against recalcitrant members of his own party as he wrestles with dynamic foreign policy challenges and works to steer his domestic agenda through Capitol Hill. It comes from a group, MAGA Kentucky, created by Trump allies specifically to target Massie, with plans to spend $1 million on the ad campaign, targeting TV and digital platforms, according to Axios, which first reported on the group. Data from the ad tracking firm AdImpact shows that MAGA KY has already reserved about $100,000 worth of airtime in July. MAGA KY shares a treasurer with Trump's main super PAC, MAGA Inc., according to its limited disclosures so far with the Federal Election Commission and is overseen by key Trump allies – connecting it to a network of political committees and joint fundraising agreements steering tens of millions of dollars in campaign cash ultimately aligned with the president. And while Trump is constitutionally ineligible to run for office again, that immense war chest has given him ample resources, along with his durable political capital, to direct against members – including Massie – who break ranks to oppose his agenda, cementing the president's grip on the party. Last month, Trump fumed against the Kentucky Republican amid his steadfast opposition to the president's signature policy bill. 'I don't think Thomas Massie understands government. I think he's a grandstander, frankly. He'll probably vote- We don't even talk to him much. I think he should be voted out of office,' Trump said. Massie, however, has cultivated a defiant independence during his time in Congress and has dismissed the threats from Trump and his allies. 'If they would just quit hitting me I might get bored and give up,' Massie told reporters on Capitol Hill earlier this week. 'But I'm not going to lose. I do not lose.'
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Is Thomas Massie vulnerable to a Trump-backed challenger? Northern KYians weigh in
President Donald Trump says he's going all-in on a primary challenge against Rep. Thomas Massie. But will it work? It's an open question for Northern Kentucky Republicans, who are anticipating a GOP primary challenger to step up and get the support — both rhetorical and monetary — of Trump and his network. The president has promised to 'be out in Kentucky campaigning really hard' against Massie, lambasting the congressman as 'lazy,' disloyal and 'nonproductive.' 'He votes, 'NO!' on everything, because he thinks it makes him cool, but he's not cool, he's a LOSER,' Trump wrote on social media earlier this week. A political action committee, 'MAGA KY,' has been set up specifically to beat Massie in 2026, with members of the Trump network ready to lead the charge. No candidate has been publicly tapped by the president or his network as of yet. Dating back to Trump's first term, the president's feud with Massie is nothing new — it's notable, though, that the president has endorsed him as recently as 2022 — but it's reached a fever pitch in the last few months. Massie was one of the lone Republicans to stand against Trump's budget bill on the grounds that it spent too much, and the 4th Congressional District representative's opposition to the Trump administration's actions in Iran resulted in Trump's most recent tirade. If voters like Charlie Coleman, a former local elected official in Campbell County, are any indication, then Massie might be in trouble. Coleman has supported Massie in several previous election cycles, even visiting the congressman's farm to pick up yard signs in 2020. Now, he says he's likely to support a primary challenger if the challenger gets the president's backing. 'I like Thomas personally, but I'm not supporting his position,' Coleman said. 'To be a part of a team, you gotta follow your leadership. I support the president, and I wish Thomas did.' But few think Massie will be a pushover, even if he draws Trump's full firepower. The congressman and his allies think his brand in the district — and among a nationwide group of grassroots donors — is strong enough to weather the storm. Massie told the Herald-Leader earlier this week that his name ID among GOP voters in the district is in the mid-70s, a pretty high mark for a congressman. He didn't discount Trump's popularity in the district, but said it would be tough to erode his own support among voters who already know him and, based on his electoral results, like him. 'If I were running against Donald Trump, I'd be in trouble. It'd be a fair fight and he might even have the upper hand,' Massie told the Herald-Leader. 'The thing is, I'm not running against Donald Trump, and Donald Trump, Jr. and Eric Trump aren't moving to the district I'm running (in). 'I'm going to be running against somebody nobody's ever heard of, and I've got enough name ID and brand right now that somebody's gonna have to work really hard to erode that.' State Rep. Savannah Maddox, R-Dry Ridge, is among Massie's closest allies in Frankfort. She was among the first of many legislators in the state GOP's unofficial 'Liberty' wing, a group that often aligns with and receives political support from Massie. She thinks the type of voter that Coleman represents is off base. The more common reaction to the latest in the long-running tiff between Trump and Massie, she said, is like that of someone watching two friends fight. While they still love both of their friends, they think one of them is in the right. 'Folks will say, 'I love our president, but he's wrong about Thomas Massie,'' Maddox said. 'Overwhelmingly, I believe they support him.' There's also the problem of finding a suitable challenger. Maddox pointed to the most recent primary contenders who tried to run 'to the Trump' of Massie. None of them netted more than 19%, even in 2020 when Trump was the sitting president and he was upset with Massie's alleged 'grandstanding' over forcing an in-person vote during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. None of those challengers have gone on to achieve political success. 'Effectively, they are going to alienate themselves from any future aspirations they may have in this congressional district and beyond,' Maddox said. 'History is very foreboding.' Some Democrats in the region agree that finding a challenger will prove difficult. Marisa McNee, a Kenton County resident and former spokesperson for the Kentucky Democratic Party, said that there's a coalition issue: The Republican Party in the region is still split between more establishment Republicans who don't actually like Trump, or Massie and Trump supporters who, by and large, support Massie. She referred to those 'establishment,' largely business-oriented Republicans as 'chamber Republicans' after the chamber of commerce. 'The chamber Republicans are deeply hated by MAGA world. They're just not aligned. You'd have to find someone who's comfortable in one world and palatable to the other,' McNee said. 'That's the game they're trying to play, and that's why it's tricky.' That group of chamber Republicans has largely disliked Massie for a while, she said. But an embrace of Trump from one of their ranks would likely come across as disingenuous. 'If you hate Massie, do you like Trump? I don't know anyone who fits in that category, personally,' McNee said. Adam Koenig, a former Northern Kentucky state representative, 'can't stand' Thomas Massie. 'He's ineffective. He's a waste of space, to be perfectly frank,' Koenig said. 'He does no constituent services. He doesn't meet with a lot of people. I believe his support is not even a mile wide, but it's definitely not an inch deep.' Koenig served for more than a decade in the General Assembly before he was taken out in a wave of successful Massie-backed primary challengers in 2022. He said Massie's lack of tangible accomplishments for the district might play well for an opponent. 'You'd like to think that someone could run a race on 'The man has never done anything. Where else could you get paid $180-some thousand a year and have no accomplishments but keep your job,'' Koenig said. Speculation over who might heed Trump's call to take Massie down has abounded in the weeks since the president's first tilt with the congressman. The two names most circulated are state Sen. Aaron Reed, R-Shelbyville, and state Rep. Kim Moser, R-Taylor Mill. Neither has responded to requests for comment from the Herald-Leader. When national outlet Axios first floated Reed's name he responded by calling it 'fake news.' However, the Navy Seal veteran and gun store owner has very publicly praised Trump's actions in the Middle East and interacted on social media with the same Trump-aligned consultant promising to lead the charge against Massie. When that consultant, former Trump 2024 co-campaign manager Chris Lacivita, posted a photo of a soldier throwing a frag grenade, Reed responded 'that move looks familiar.' Some hoping to unseat Massie think activation of more affluent suburban areas of the district like Oldham and Shelby counties outside of Louisville, where Reed is from, could serve to moderate the primary electorate. Two prominent Oldham County politicians signaled to the Herald-Leader that they would not jump in the race: Attorney General Russell Coleman and former AG and current U.S. Senate candidate Daniel Cameron. A Coleman spokesperson told the Herald-Leader 'he is going to serve the full term he was elected to,' which runs out in 2027. Cameron's spokesperson said he was 'focused on (the) Senate.' Scott Jennings, a Republican public relations executive whose pundit role on CNN has catapulted him to stardom during the Trump era, has been mentioned as a possibility, though most of the chatter has centered around a potential run for U.S. Senate. Massie believes that the most effective challenger would be a person without much a voting record, whose views on the issues are therefore more malleable and less easy to pin down for attack ads. Koenig did not have any prescription for a formula to bridge the worlds of 'establishment' and MAGA, but as someone who has previously been courted to run against Massie he said the money will absolutely be there. 'The money is ready for someone viewed as legit. You've just gotta find someone who's viewed as legit,' Koenig said. Massie hinted that he could raise up to $10 million if put through the ringer of a competitive Trump-backed primary. Trump's attacks have largely boosted his grassroots fundraising, he says. According to a post on social media, Massie raised more than $154,000 from Sunday to Wednesday and has about $1.5 million on hand. He also mentioned super PAC money. It's possible, some have speculated, that a Massie supporter who also happens to be the richest man in the world might help. Multi-billionaire Elon Musk has shown love for Massie on his social media platform, X, where the congressman has 1.3 million followers. Musk, a similarly science-minded spending hawk, has had his own issues with Trump in recent weeks following a stint where he led Trump's Department of Government Efficiency. Though Musk helped power Trump's reelection with huge outside spending efforts, he announced plans to cut back on such political spending last month. Even if there is a spending gap between Massie and his opponent, state Rep. Steven Doan, R-Erlanger, the Massie ally who unseated Koenig, thinks the money won't matter. 'People have known him for the 12 years that he's been in office and they've seen how he's fought against the party all the time; I mean, he was instrumental in taking John Boehner out as speaker' Doan said. 'And even when the whole Republican Party structure tries to clap back at Thomas, he seems to survive it.'
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump allies taking on Thomas Massie after Kentucky Republican's recent opposition to the president
Donald Trump's allies have launched a super PAC that will seek to oust Rep. Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican who opposed the president's domestic policy bill and criticized his strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities. The move to target Massie demonstrates Trump and his allies' willingness to unleash his well-funded political organization on members of their own party who buck the president's agenda. The new group is called MAGA KY, according to a statement of organization filed with the Federal Election Commission. It shares a treasurer with Trump's main super PAC, MAGA Inc. Axios first reported the super PAC's formation, which the outlet said would be overseen by two key Trump allies: Chris LaCivita, who served as co-manager of Trump's 2024 campaign, and pollster Tony Fabrizio. Trump, LaCivita and James Blair, the president's deputy chief of staff for legislative affairs, all have criticized Massie on social media in recent days. Trump called the Kentucky Republican a 'negative force' and a 'simple minded 'grandstander'' on his Truth Social platform after Massie criticized Trump's strikes as 'unconstitutional.' Massie was one of just two Republicans in the House to vote against the sweeping tax and spending bill that is the centerpiece of the president's domestic policy agenda. In recent days, he emerged as a vocal opponent of Trump's decision to bomb Iran's nuclear facilities without congressional authorization. 'I'm here to represent the base of the MAGA party that got Trump elected,' Massie told CNN's Manu Raju on 'Inside Politics Sunday.' 'Most of us were tired of wars in the Middle East and Eastern Europe, and we were promised that we would not be engaging in another one.' The libertarian-leaning Republican recently joined Democrats in sponsoring a resolution to rein in the executive's power to go to war with Iran. Massie noted that US actions in Iraq and Afghanistan in the 2000s were 'at least' debated in Congress at the time with requests from then-President George W. Bush. 'It should have been declarations of war, but at least they did an Authorization of Use of Military Force,' Massie said. 'We haven't had that. This has been turned upside down.' On Monday evening, however, Massie indicated to journalists that he would not continue to push for the resolution if the ceasefire between Israel and Iran announced earlier that day by Trump holds. He argued, however, that Trump still violated the Constitution. 'There was another way to do this where you could still get the credit, where you do it constitutionally,' he said. Massie, who has represented his northern Kentucky seat since 2012, said he doesn't think Trump can knock him out by campaigning for a GOP primary opponent. Trump's 'endorsement's worth about 10 points, and I can sustain that,' Massie told Raju on Monday. Massie has vocally opposed multiple initiatives of Trump's second term. The lawmaker previously called the White House's insistence that Trump's major policy bill would not raise the US deficit 'a joke' — a comment that drew the president's ire. 'I don't think Thomas Massie understands government. I think he's a grandstander, frankly. … I think he should be voted out of office,' Trump told reporters ahead of a May meeting with House Republicans. Massie was also the sole GOP lawmaker who didn't vote for Mike Johnson as House speaker in January, despite a Trump intervention and encouragement from the president that Republicans needed to work as a team. CNN's Alison Main, Sarah Davis and Shania Shelton contributed to this report.
Yahoo
24-06-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Speaker Johnson stops short of backing Massie for reelection amid Trump feud
Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) stopped short of endorsing Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) for reelection on Tuesday, days after President Trump threatened to back a primary challenger for the GOP lawmaker — the latest jab in the long-running feud between the two Republicans. The lukewarm response follows days of Trump attacking Massie on social media after the Kentucky Republican voted against the party's 'big, beautiful bill' last month and said the president's strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities over the weekend were 'not Constitutional.' On Sunday, however, Trump escalated his rhetoric, vowing to campaign 'hard' for a primary challenger to Massie, who has served in the House since 2012. Asked on Tuesday if he will defend Massie against a primary challenger, Johnson weighed his commitments as Speaker with his understanding of Trump's anger with the Kentucky Republican. 'That's the hardest question I had this morning, and I'm being totally honest with you,' Johnson said. 'Look, the Speaker's job, my role with my party cap on is I'm leader of my party here, and the Speaker leads the incumbent protection program, right, that's what we call it. I gotta make sure everybody gets reelected. I travel the country nonstop, relentlessly, raising money to ensure that that happens.' 'But I certainly understand the president's frustration about the colleague you named, and he and I talk about that quite a bit,' he continued. 'Can't quite understand what the rationale is but if you're here and you're wearing one team's jersey and every single time you vote with the other team, people begin to question what your motive is and what your philosophy is and why you're so consistently opposed to the platform, the agenda of your party.' It remains unclear who will primary Massie, but the effort to find a candidate is ramping up. Chris LaCivita, Trump's 2024 co-campaign manager, and Tony Fabrizio, a Trump pollster, launched a new super PAC that is aimed at unseating Massie. 'MAGA KY was formed for the specific purpose of firing Thomas Massie – His constituents will soon learn that he prefers the politics and policy of AOC and the radical left – over President Trump,' LaCivita told NewsNation, referring to progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) by her moniker. Massie, for his part, has not flinched amid the increased pressure. On Monday, he said, 'I have the Trump antibodies,' likely referring to previous scuffles he has gotten into with Trump; and on Tuesday, after Johnson stopped short of offering support for the incumbent, Massie reposted Trump's May 2022 statement endorsing him. 'For those who want to know what @realDonaldTrump really thinks of me, this should clear things up…' he wrote on social platform X with the old endorsement. Trump and Massie have historically had a complicated relationship. In March 2020, Massie tried to force a vote on the CARES Act COVID-19 stimulus bill, which forced members to return to Washington to avoid a delay in passing the legislation — drawing the ire of Trump. In August 2022, Trump endorsed Massie before his primary, calling the Kentucky Republican 'a first-rate Defender of the Constitution.' In April 2023, Massie endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) in the GOP presidential primary, sparking intense anger from Trump. In October 2024, after DeSantis had dropped out, Massie endorsed Trump. Trump's and Johnson's frustrations with Massie are resurfacing as the Kentucky Republican voted against key party legislation, supported an effort to oust the Speaker last year and, most recently, sharply criticized the president's strike in Iran. Massie is co-leading a bipartisan war powers resolution with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) that would prevent the U.S. from additional intervention in Iran, an effort that Johnson has staked opposition to. Massie, however, may hold back the resolution now that Trump announced a ceasefire between Israel and Iran. Trump unloaded on Massie as recently as Tuesday morning, calling him a 'Third Rate Congressman' and a 'LOSER.' Johnson, additionally, told reporters: 'We never agree these days; I'm not sure where his philosophy is coming from.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
