i don't think of massie as a maverick. i see him as an intelligent human thinking about how things impact his district and acting accordingly. i had slight hopes for the orange man but no more;

Kentucky’s maverick Republican congressman, Thomas Massie, is wearing a big bullseye on his back for casting votes President Donald Trump disapproved of. A pro-Trump super PAC recently released a brutal ad falsely accusing Massie of opposing tax cuts and border security. The ad is part of the president’s goal to oust the rogue congressman in 2026.

But there’s a good chance the effort will fail, Massie told The New American in a phone interview Monday. He told TNA he’s seen a significant uptick in fundraising just over the last week — from donors all over the country, not just Kentucky. Moreover, he believes his constituents, most of whom also support the president, will choose him over Trump’s wishes. The congressman also said he’s heard through the grapevine that someone out there may be launching a pro-Massie super PAC to help combat the effect of the one going after him.

Trump’s Ire

Massie first triggered Trump’s ire by labeling the president’s decision to unilaterally order strikes Iran’s nuclear sites as “unconstitutional.” Trump took to social media and published a novella-sized post in which he called Massie a “negative force” and a “simple-minded ‘grandstander.'” He is “weak [and] ineffective” because he “votes ‘NO’ on virtually everything.”

The Trump super PAC, MAGA Kentucky, released the anti-Massie takedown ad in late June as part of a $1 million ad buy dedicated to sullying the Kentuckian’s reputation. The 30-second spot begins by asking, “What happened to Thomas Massie?” It then lists commonsense policies Massie supposedly opposes. According to the ad, Massie is against banning sex-change operations on minors, cutting taxes, and securing the border. To make matters worse, says the ad, Massie “sided with Iran” over Trump’s decision to obliterate its nuclear weapons program. “Let’s fire Thomas Massie,” the ad concludes..........more.....