Rep. Thomas Massie, the Kentucky Republican who lost his primary last week to a Trump-backed challenger, has declined to rule out a potential presidential run in 2028.
Massie's Political Future
Speaking on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday, Massie said he is still weighing his political future after being defeated by former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein, who was endorsed by President Trump after the president repeatedly urged supporters to vote Massie out of office.
When asked whether he was considering a run for the White House, Massie said, "I will not rule out anything, and right now, I'm not going to rule in anything."
"Every hour that passes, I get decompressed a little bit more," he added. "It's like coming up from the bottom of the ocean, and I'll take some time and decide what's next, but I think I will stay engaged in some way or shape. Maybe it's from the outside. I've been exposing what's going on in Washington, D.C., for years, and I'll keep doing it."
Warning for the GOP
Massie also warned that the Republican Party could be "very vulnerable" in the upcoming midterm elections over their loyalty to Trump. When asked whether Republicans were beginning to break with Trump, he responded: "It's true, you can take out Republicans in primaries, but Republicans are going to be very vulnerable this fall. They're worried about their own political mortality."
Massie frequently broke with the Trump administration on issues including Iran policy, the so-called "Big Beautiful Bill," and the handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files. He said Sunday that his split from the president was "absolutely worth it for me."
"Now, I don't think it's going to be worth it for the party," Massie added. "Look, some people on the left have Trump Derangement Syndrome. They call it TDS. But there's a growing number of people on the right who have a form of TDS called Trump Disappointment Syndrome."
Criticism of White House Ballroom
Massie also criticized Trump's focus on building a new White House ballroom, calling it "a slap in the face of Americans."
"The ballroom, I mean, that is such an egregious waste of money," Massie said. Trump has said the ballroom project would be funded through private donations, though Republicans recently sought to include $1 billion in taxpayer funding tied to security costs associated with construction.
"The president was bragging on the Roman architecture, when in fact we're operating like a Roman Empire," Massie said. "We're overextended overseas with our foreign aid, with our foreign bases. We're spending money that we don't have, and the gasoline and rent and groceries are so high that people can't afford it."
"I do think it's dangerous to indulge in these things like a gold-plated ballroom in Washington, D.C., while Americans are suffering," he added.
