Trump v Massie: Could president's Republican nemesis survive $20m attack to oust him?

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. Trump v Massie: Could president's Republican nemesis survive $20m attack to oust him? 1 hour ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleAnthony ZurcherNorth America correspondent in Kentucky Watch: Can Massie win his Republican primary while at war with Trump? At a rally in a parking lot outside his campaign headquarters in Florence, Kentucky, on Saturday, Congressman Thomas Massie said that the Republican politicians who joined him had made a brave choice.

"I'm sure they'll be punished for coming here today," he said. It didn't take long for Massie's warning to prove prophetic, as Donald Trump took to Truth Social to make his displeasure known. Congresswoman Lauren Boebert of Colorado, who had been barnstorming with Massie all weekend, and Rand Paul, the Kentucky senator who endorsed Massie and shares his unorthodox small-government libertarianism, were "parading around like fools for the worst Republican congressman in the history of our party".

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The president called Boebert "weak-minded" and "dumb" and said that he would withdraw his endorsement of her if a Republican challenger came forward. Trump's threats weren't exactly realistic. Paul doesn't stand for re-election for another two years.

The filing date to run against Boebert in the Colorado Republican primary has already passed. But Trump's animosity toward Massie is very real - and it has had real consequences. Even as Trump was visiting China last week, he was firing off posts attacking the congressman, whose district stretches along the Ohio River from the suburbs of Louisville and Cincinnati to the foothills of Appalachia.

He has called him a "moron", a "loser", a "lowlife" and a "major sleazebag". In March, the president handpicked and endorsed a candidate – retired Navy special forces veteran Ed Gallrein - to challenge Massie in the state's Republican primary on Tuesday. Massie's transgressions?

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He has broken with his party on issues near and dear to Trump's heart. He voted against Trump's "big, beautiful" tax and spending legislation last year because it added trillions to the national debt. He backed rescinding Trump's tariffs on Canada.

He voted to curtail Trump's attacks on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean and his ongoing war in Iran. And perhaps most notably, he joined forces with Democrats - and a handful of Republicans - to force Trump's Justice Department to release all of its files on Jeffrey Epstein, the late sex offender with ties to the rich and powerful. US Congressman Thomas Massie tells he is "not satisfied" with Epstein file releaseFor Massie's supporters, it's evidence of the congressman's willingness to fight for his principles, consequences be damned.

"He's one of the most consistent congressmen," said Rex Morgan, who attended a Massie meet-and-greet at a coffee shop in Shelbyville, near Louisville. "And even if it were to cost him his job, he will not go back on his word.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.