PoliticsDonald Trump Storms Back to X to Torch GOP Rival After Ditching Elon Musk's Platform
Donald Trump returned to X with an attack on Rep. Thomas Massie.
May 22 2026, Published 7:29 a.m. ET
President Donald Trump is back on X, and he didn’t ease into it.
After months of staying off the Elon Musk-owned platform he once dominated, Trump returned with a full-blown attack on Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, turning the Kentucky GOP primary into another viral round in their feud.
“Horrible Congressman Thomas Massie put out an old Endorsement, from many years ago, of him by me long before I found out that he was the Worst Congressman in the History of our Country,” Trump wrote to his 111 million followers.
Donald Trump’s Return Comes in All Caps
Donald Trump posted in all caps as voters cast primary ballots.
He didn’t stop there, accusing Massie of being “fraudulent” and demanding, “WITHDRAW YOUR FAKE STATEMENT, MASSIE, RIGHT NOW!”
The post landed just as voters headed to the polls in a closely watched Republican primary, where Trump-backed challenger Ed Gallrein ultimately claimed victory over Massie.
A Feud Years in the Making
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Thomas Massie resurfaced the president’s past endorsement.
Massie has long been one of Trump’s most persistent Republican critics, breaking with him on major issues, including pushing for the release of Jeffrey Epstein-related files.
The tension boiled over when Massie responded to Trump’s post with receipts, sharing a 2022 endorsement in which Trump called him a “first-rate Defender of the Constitution” and gave him his “Complete and Total Endorsement!”
Why This Moment Matters
An expert said Thomas Massie lost support by breaking with Donald Trump's supporters.
"The Massie story isn't a story about Trump's X return. It's a story about a congressman who forgot who sent him to Washington,” said Aaron Evans, President of strategic communications firm Story Group.
“Trump carried that district by over 30 points. Voters didn't elect Massie to be the conscience of the libertarian movement, they sent him to work with the Republican president they chose,” Evans added.
“He let grievance politics hijack his brand and turned himself from a powerhouse into a caricature. He has no seat and no party now.”
Politics, But Make It Viral
The political showdown quickly exploded across social media.
Massie suggested ahead of the vote that Trump’s attacks showed weakness.
“President Trump would not be doing this if they were confident that they were winning,” he told WHAS11.
But Evans dismissed the idea of a “MAGA civil war” given Massie’s blowout loss.
“As for Trump's X post, it looks impulsive but the timing was disciplined — primary day — the audience he needed lives on X, 111 million followers in the window where the post could still move turnout,” he explained.
“The MAGA civil war chatter misses the point,” he said. “There's no civil war when one side just won by nine points in the most expensive House primary in American history."
