Massie says – Rep. Thomas Massie is rejoining a hotly contested Kentucky GOP primary race, arguing it has become a referendum on whether Israel can “buy seats in Congress.” He framed his own campaign as a test of a one-sided U.S.-Israel relationship and said outside spendin
Rep.. Thomas Massie stepped away toward the Capitol with a specific message for reporters: this GOP primary fight. he said. is no longer about his own record.. As veteran congressional reporter Pablo Manríquez approached him for a question-and-answer. Massie said he was headed to rejoin what he called “the most expensive congressional race in U.S.. history.”
“Let’s do it! I’m walking to an airplane to rejoin the most expensive congressional race in U.S. history,” Massie said, as Manríquez asked what was driving the contest.
Massie answered that the campaign has turned into “a referendum… whether Israel gets to buy seats in Congress. ” adding that his seat is “really expensive.” He told Manríquez that “by the time this is over. they will… spent $20 million and come up short. ” arguing the effort to unseat him is being bankrolled at unusually high levels.
In the exchange, Massie questioned what he sees as Israel’s unique role in U.S.. politics.. Manríquez asked. “Why is Israel the only country that gets to buy elections in the United States?” Massie replied. “Does any other country get to?” He also said he has “never seen Great Britain. Australia. or even Germany play in our elections here in the United States. ” while arguing Israel receives heavy support from Washington.
Massie listed the benefits he believes flow to Israel. saying the relationship is “one-sided.” He argued Israel “get[s] us to be their proxies in wars that they want against their enemies. ” while providing “military assistance” to the United States. along with “technology” and. in his words. “They get our bombs.. They get our tax dollars.”
The congressman also pointed to what he described as a false sense of reciprocity in alliances, arguing that “with NATO, we pretend that they would come to our aid someday if we needed it,” and calling that “a ruse.”
His comments arrive as Massie’s political situation tightens.. Massie. a long-time critic of Israel and foreign intervention. has also become a fierce critic of President Donald Trump after their break over the “Big Beautiful Bill” last year.. Trump is now promoting a primary challenger to oust Massie.
That challenger is Ed Gallrein, backed by Trump, and the latest poll shows Massie trailing. The poll has Massie at 43 percent and Gallrein at 48 percent ahead of the May 19 primary vote.
Outside political support is also part of the controversy surrounding the race. The coverage notes that Massie’s opponent has been targeted by Trump allies and GOP mega-donors like Miriam Adelson and Paul Singer, who support pro-Israel causes.
The primary battle has already spilled into broader, tense public incidents. Earlier in the week, Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-KY) son accosted Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY) at a DC bar, according to the report. The allegation: William Paul told Lawler that Jews would be the reason Massie loses.
Lawler later detailed what William Paul said to him, describing “a roughly 10-minute diatribe about Israel, about Jews, about Paul Singer,” and accusing Jews of being responsible for “so many things,” which Lawler said played “right into the typical anti-Semitic tropes.”
Lawler also said that at one point William Paul told him, “he hates Jews and hates gays and doesn’t care if they die.”
The May 19 election is shaping up as a direct collision between Massie’s framing of outside influence and Trump-aligned efforts to remove him from Congress—now sharpened. in Massie’s telling. by a question he says voters are being pushed to answer: whether Israel is effectively able to purchase influence over congressional seats.
Thomas Massie Ed Gallrein GOP primary Kentucky Israel Miriam Adelson Paul Singer Donald Trump Rand Paul Mike Lawler William Paul