Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) said in a Sunday interview he’s not afraid of facing backlash from former President Trump for backing Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’s (R) campaign against the former president.
“I’ve got the Trump antibodies,” Massie, a surrogate for DeSantis’s campaign, told “Fox News Sunday” host Shannon Bream when she asked whether he’s worried about the “price” he “might pay” for backing DeSantis over Trump.
Massie pointed to his opposition to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, signed into law under Trump on March 27, 2020, to aid in the pandemic recovery early on. Massie said he was attacked by Trump at the time and, therefore, is less afraid now.
“He came at me for opposing the CARES Act. I was the only congressman who did. I said it was going to cause inflation, that it would cause shortages. And oh, by the way, it funded the mail-in ballots and spent $2 trillion,” Massie said. “Contrast that with Ron DeSantis. He called me up while everybody was hating on me, including that president, and said, ‘I’m going to open our economy and make sure our kids go to school.’”
“Now, Trump came at me and I won my reelection, so I’m not worried about it, but I think there are — a lot of those endorsements aren’t wholehearted endorsements,” Massie said, referring to the recent endorsements Trump has gotten from Republican politicians spanning the ideological spectrum.
Massie said he thinks other members are endorsing Trump out of fear of retribution if Trump wins.
“They’re either afraid that he will get involved in their primaries, or they’re afraid that if he does win, he’ll be vindictive,” Massie said. “Ron DeSantis can work with anybody. And so there’s no vindication expected from him after he wins, so that’s — you know, that’s just the way it is.”
“It’s sort of bullying tactics from the former president,” Massie added.