Rep. Thomas Massie the Martyr

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(May 19, 2026) — The first time I ever heard of Representative Thomas Massie was in late March of 2020. The back bench congressman from Kentucky gained national attention when he used a parliamentary procedure to hold up an emergency covid relief package. He tried to force a roll call vote, when many members were sick and out of town. It upset his colleagues, but Massie, a narcissist, never cared what other people thought. He wanted to get national attention, and he got that, but he also got Trump’s attention and ire. Massie had so little influence in Washington that my guess is Trump had never heard of him before March of 2020.

Trump correctly called Massie a “third rate Grandstander” and called for Massie’s constituents to “throw Massie out of the Republican Party!”

Well, there is a primary election tonight, and 6 years after Massie’s stunt, it is likely that Massie will finally lose. At least I hope so. He was never cut out to be a member of Congress, in part because he is not interested in doing things. He is a virtue signaler, who went to Washington for his own ego. He votes like a pure libertarian, who fortunately for the country, is out-voted by pragmatic people. And he knows most of his colleagues are responsible people, so he can indulge in his “No” votes, which allows him to play the purist. Massie is no more principled than any other grandstander that you may meet in life, whether on your condo board or PTA.

For Massie his legacy will be that he never voted for deficit spending, or a single new regulation. Well, if every member of Congress voted with Massie, we would be in a depression. Balanced budgets are great, but if we balanced the budget overnight, we’d sink into a depression. Massie probably knows this. Massie never accomplished anything of note in Congress, and he is proud of that fact. His colleagues can’t stand him, but he doesn’t care, he probably just views them as corrupt.

If he does lose, look for his supporters, and anti-Israel Republicans to blame the Israeli lobby. Why? Because Massie has been a fierce opponent to Trump’s attacks on Iran, and his partnership with Israel.

On the campaign trail Massie said:

“When this race is over, whether I won or lost, that’s the story: Were they able to come in and take out a Republican who’s skeptical of Benjamin Netanyahu’s policies?”

Ah yes, Massie the Martyr, the Israelis are coming after him. Megyn Kelley, yesterday on her podcast pushed this nonsense, she ignored the fact that Massie voted against Trump’s major legislative initiative, the “big, beautiful Bill, or that he worked with Democrats to push out the Epstein files, and instead asserts the belief that Massie might have gotten renominated if it were not for the Israeli lobby, and their campaign donations.

Kelly said, “I am turned off by all the AIPAC money being poured in”, all because of his principled, “America only stance.” According to her, Israel has decided to, “make him suffer.” Kelly also said that she didn’t want AIPAC to decide our elections. No, Megyn, the Israeli lobby is not controlling our elections.

Yesterday, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth came to Kentucky to campaign against Massie. He summed up Trump’s opposition well:

“When President Trump needs backup, Massie wants to debate process. When the (conservative) movement needs unity at a critical moment, Massie is willing to vote with Democrats. When conservatives are fighting the radical left too often, Massie’s instincts are to throw elbows at fellow Republicans, instead of the people who are destroying our country, or want to destroy our country.”

I think Massie will lose because the people of Kentucky’s 4th District are going to want someone in Washington who will represent them effectively. We will see what happens tonight.

David Shephard is a native and very proud Virginian. Raised in Fairfax County, David graduated from George Mason University and majored in Government and Politics. He spent decades in politics, campaign consulting, raising money and lobbying. He is also a longtime conservative blogger writing for numerous blogs. He is also the host of “The Virginia Gentleman Podcast.”

David is the author of Elections Have Consequences, A Cautionary Tale, and his latest book, Norton’s Choice: An Inside Politics Exposé.