President Donald Trump blasted Kentucky lawmakers Sen. Rand Paul and Rep. Thomas Massie in back-to-back social media posts Friday, accusing both of being Republicans in name only, or RINOs.
He accused them of failing to support the GOP and MAGA agenda.
Trump first took aim at Paul, saying in a Truth Social post that the three-term senator “never votes positively for the Republican Party.”
He added, “He’s a nasty liddle guy.”
Trump then unloaded on Massie in a post minutes later, saying he “must be thrown out of office” and offered an alternative candidate for Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District, Ed Gallrein.
“Third Rate Congressman Thomas Massie, a Weak and Pathetic RINO from the Great Commonwealth of Kentucky, a place I love, and won big SIX TIMES, must be thrown out of office, ASAP!” Trump wrote.
He added: “I hope Ed gets into the Race against Massie, who is now polling at about 9% because the Great People of Kentucky are wise to him — He only votes against the Republican Party, making life very easy for the Radical Left.”
Paul has clashed with Trump on several key issues, including government spending, tariffs, and executive overreach.
He opposed Trump’s $5 trillion debt ceiling package as fiscally reckless and criticized new tariffs as hidden taxes.
Paul also rejected Trump’s proposal to use the military for deportations and condemned federal investment in private firms like Intel as “socialism.”
On Friday, Paul called on Congress to “make it clear that war powers reside with Congress, not the president.”
That came after Paul questioned the legality and precedent of using lethal force against Venezuelan vessels accused of drug trafficking without congressional authorization.
“About 25% of the time that the Coast Guard boards a vessel in the Caribbean looking for drugs, about 25% of the time, the boat that is boarded doesn’t have drugs,” Paul told Newsmax earlier this month.
“So we’ve blown up four boats. Statistically speaking, what are the odds that one of the boats didn’t have drugs?”
Trump’s friction with Massie dates back to 2020, when Massie held up a COVID-19 relief bill, earning Trump’s rebuke as a “third-rate grandstander.”
Massie has since broken with Trump on spending, foreign aid, and tariffs, positioning himself as a libertarian purist.
In recent months, Trump allies have blasted Massie for undercutting the GOP agenda, accusing him of siding with Democrats on key votes while Trump pushes to unify the party.
“Unlike ‘lightweight’ Massie, a totally ineffective LOSER who has failed us so badly, CAPTAIN ED GALLREIN IS A WINNER WHO WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN,” Trump said in his second post.
“Should he decide to challenge Massie, Captain Ed Gallrein has my Complete and Total Endorsement.”
Massie raised $768,000 from July through September — his strongest fundraising quarter yet — as he faces pressure from a super PAC aligned with Trump ahead of next year’s midterms.
Newsmax wires contributed to this report.
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