GOP Congressman Thomas Massie Pits ‘American Patriotism’ Against ‘Zionism’ in Crude Meme

Isaac SchorrDec 5th, 2023, 2:49 pm
 
Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., makes a point in the House Rules Committee as Republicans advance a bill to disapprove of action by the District of Columbia Council on a local voting rights act and a criminal code revision, at the Capitol in Washington, Monday, Feb. 6, 2023.

AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) continued to makes waves with his anti-Israel tack on Tuesday by sharing a crude meme on X (formerly Twitter) suggesting that “American Patriotism” and “Zionism” are at odds.

Massie used a popular meme format depicting the rapper Drake (labeled “Congress These Days”) rejecting “American Patriotism” and welcoming “Zionism.”

The backlash online was considerable — and bipartisan.

“Thomas Massie, a House Republican, is pitting American patriotism against Zionism. Most Americans are both pro-America and pro-Israel and see no contradiction between the two,” commented Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY).

“Will Thomas Massie be booted off committees or will he face censure the way that Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib were for their comments about Israel? Or will it be different because Mike Johnson needs Massie’s vote?” asked MSNBC columnist Eric Michael Garcia.

Joel Pollak, a senior editor-at-large at Breitbart News, simply advised his followers to “[n]ever go full antisemite.”

One observer who did enjoy Massie’s meme was Stew Peters, a far-right conspiracy theorist and anti-Semite who has opined that Israel “is running our country,” advanced a conspiracy theory that Israel intentionally attacked a U.S. warship during the 1967 Six-Day War, and associated with Nick Fuentes.

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“.@RepThomasMassieis the only real America First elected official in congress,” declared Peters.

Massie had previously made waves in a back and forth with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which denounced him for voting against a resolution in support of Israel in October.

“AIPAC always gets mad when I put America first,” asserted Massie on X. “I won’t be voting for their $14+ billion shakedown of American taxpayers either. Let them know what you think by replying to their post. They are intentionally misrepresenting my intent and the resolution I voted against.”

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