President Donald Trump reportedly sharpened his criticism of Rep. Thomas Massie on Tuesday, telling Republicans there is “something wrong” with the Kentucky lawmaker as tensions continue to simmer over Massie’s repeated breaks with the GOP.
Trump’s remarks came during a GOP retreat in Washington, D.C., where he addressed party unity, the narrow House majority and what he views as unhelpful defections from within Republican ranks. Massie has drawn the president’s ire for months by publicly criticizing Trump and siding with Democrats on high-profile issues.
Most notably, Massie aligned himself with Rep. Ro Khanna, a California Democrat, in pushing to release files related to deceased sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. The move put Massie at odds with many Republicans and reinforced Trump’s view that the congressman is more interested in bucking his own party than advancing conservative priorities.
Massie also criticized Trump’s approach to Venezuela before U.S. forces moved in to apprehend President Nicolás Maduro, claiming the administration’s interest was driven by “oil and regime change.” Trump has repeatedly bristled at that characterization and has openly questioned Massie’s loyalty to the party.
The president has not been subtle in calling Massie out. On Christmas Day, Trump singled him out by name in a Truth Social post, signaling that the rift was personal as well as political.
At the GOP retreat, Trump first praised House Speaker Mike Johnson, pushing back on criticism that Johnson lacks toughness. Trump said Johnson is constrained by the party’s razor-thin majority and cannot afford to alienate members indiscriminately.
“A lot of times they’ll say, ‘I wish Mike were tougher.’ He’s tough. He’s tough as anybody in the room, actually,” Trump said. But he noted the reality of governing with a majority of just a few seats. “You can’t be Trump,” he added, explaining that strong-arm tactics can backfire when numbers are tight.
Trump then pivoted back to Massie, suggesting the speaker has essentially written him off. “Everybody loves him,” Trump said of Johnson. “I would say there’s one person he’s given up on. He just gave up on this guy.”
The president did not hold back. “He’s so bad. He never votes for us. No matter how good, he won’t vote for us,” Trump said. He went on to characterize Massie’s opposition as reflexive and irrational. “There’s a sickness there. There’s something wrong.”
Trump argued that Massie’s “no” votes persist even when legislation clearly benefits the country, not just Republicans. “You can have the greatest bill, the greatest for the country — forget about for Republicans — great, great, great for the country,” Trump said, mimicking Massie’s response: “‘I’m a no vote.’”
The president added that party leaders no longer even try to persuade Massie during late-night negotiations. “We don’t even bother calling him at three in the morning, do we?” Trump said, drawing laughter from the room.
For Trump and his allies, Massie has become a symbol of what they see as performative independence that undermines conservative goals. As Republicans look ahead to a critical election cycle with little margin for error, Trump’s message was clear: unity matters, and habitual defiance from within the party won’t be tolerated without pushback.
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