Massie Cracks Joke About Trump Nearly Getting Pence Hanged in Exchange With Vance

Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images

Amid an escalating feud with President Donald Trump, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) threw a metaphorical punch at Vice President JD Vance via tweet on Tuesday.

The Kentucky Republican has drawn the president’s ire for his vocal opposition to the “One Big, Beautiful Bill” Act that narrowly passed the House but is mired in the Senate. Several other Republicans have joined Massie in publicly criticizing some of the bill’s provisions and the House and Senate versions are still not in alignment.

Trump’s fury spiked after Israel launched strikes against Iran, when Massie swiftly declared he opposed U.S. involvement — or, at minimum, wanted Congressional approval under the War Powers Act — a position that garnered the endorsement of several of his Democratic colleagues.

After the U.S. launched its own strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities, Massie denounced the military operation as “unconstitutional.” Trump fired back in a Truth Social post, followed shortly by the announcement that his political operation was launching a PAC to support a primary challenger for Massie, who has represented his northern Kentucky district since 2012.

Massie has shrugged off Trump’s attacks and shows no sign of compromising his views on these issues.

On Tuesday, Massie took a swing at Trump’s veep.

That morning, Vance tweeted, “I wonder if other VPs had as much excitement as I do,” along with a crying laughing emoji. The tweet drew a flood of mocking memes and other critical replies typical on many social media platforms.

And Massie chimed in as well.

“Ask Mike Pence about his last month,” wrote Massie later in the day, a clear reference to the “Hang Mike Pence” chanted by rioters during the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol — not to mention the gallows they constructed on the grounds outside the building.

That day, Pence was presiding over the Electoral College vote certification when the attack began. He was evacuated by the Secret Service to a secure location in the Capitol complex, narrowly missing encountering the rioters, and waited there until law enforcement could secure control and it was safe to return.

Massie’s retort was cheered by many of Vance’s critics, and also reminded NOTUS reporter Haley Byrd Witt of an interview she had with the congressman in the wake of the January 6 riot.

The screenshotted quote read:

“I think Trump is at fault here. I watched almost all of his speech. I felt like it was inevitable,” he added. “I told my wife it was like a 50-pound feedsack and I just heard the first few stitches pop. The next thing that happens is all the stitches pop and all the feed’s on the ground.”

Massie said some House Republicans genuinely believed their own arguments about election fraud, and they pursued the state objections “without regard for fear or political ramifications.” But, he added, “there were a whole host of my colleagues who were just frankly terrified of the base that Trump had misled. It was much easier to go along than to explain to them that Trump was misleading them.”

“Trump’s not just salting the earth, he’s ritually forcing his allies to salt the earth that they have to tend to when he’s gone,” Massie added.

This article has been updated with additional information.