'I was threatened': Rebel Republican begs constituents for cash after Trump attack

When President Donald Trump visited Capitol Hill on Tuesday, May 20, he pressured GOP lawmakers to go ahead and pass a "big, beautiful bill" that will combine his legislative priorities. And one of the Republicans he singled out for attack was Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Kentucky), a hardcore budget hawk who opposes the current U.S. House version of the bill.

Attacking Massie as a "grandstander," Trump told reporters the Kentucky congressman "should be voted out of office."

Trump said of Massie, "If you ask him a couple of questions, he never gives you an answer. He just says 'I'm a no.' He thinks he's going to get publicity, and you have that. You have that."

But Massie is using the attack as a fundraising opportunity.

In a May 20 post on X, formerly Twitter, Massie posted, "I need your help. For having the audacity to say this bill does NOT repeal the green new deal, but DOES increase the deficit and debt substantially, I was threatened by Trump today. Can you contribute to my reelection at this link?"

Although Massie isn't a Never Trumper, he has, at times, criticized Trump for not being fiscally conservative enough. And he doubled down on his messaging during a May 20 appearance on CNN.

Massie pushed back against Trump's claim that his "big, beautiful bill" will not add to the federal deficit, telling CNN's Manu Raju, "Now, that's a joke. We're going to add $20 trillion to the debt over the next 10 years, which is three and a half to $5 trillion more than would have been added otherwise."

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