GOP Representative Lauren Boebert is facing a wave of backlash from President Donald Trump and MAGA hardliners following her endorsement of fellow Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky. Massie has drawn the ire of the president by repeatedly breaking with him on key issues and faces a Trump-backed challenger in a GOP primary election on Tuesday.
The congresswoman—dubbed a “MAGA warrior” by Trump when he endorsed her reelection bid—sparked outrage among Trump loyalists on Friday after posting side-by-side photos of Trump and Massie on X, writing: “Below is my friend Thomas Massie. He loves America and is fighting to save it. Also below is my friend and President, Donald Trump. He’s put his life on the line to save this great country. I support both of these men. I’ve worked with both to preserve freedom and liberty. And if that makes you angry, bless your heart.”
Trump weighed in on Saturday evening, writing on Truth Social: “Is anyone interested in running against Weak Minded Lauren Boebert in Colorado’s Fourth Congressional District…Boebert is campaigning for the Worst ‘Republican’ Congressman in the History of our Country, Thomas Massie, of the Great Commonwealth of Kentucky, and anybody who can be that dumb deserves a good Primary fight! Even though I long ago endorsed Boebert, if the right person came along, it would be my Honor to withdraw that Endorsement, and endorse a good and proper alternative. Just let me know, or announce your Candidacy, and I will be there for you!”
MAGA diehards, meanwhile, declared Boebert’s endorsement for Massie political “suicide.” The controversy highlights an ongoing fissure within the Republican Party regarding the enforcement of absolute loyalty to Trump, raising critical questions about how much dissent the party’s base will tolerate.
Boebert quickly responded to Trump’s post, writing: “Yes, I saw the President’s post. No, I’m not mad or offended. I knew the risks when I agreed to stand by my friend Thomas Massie. I was, and will be, America First, America Always, and MAGA. Onward.”
Massie thanked her for standing up for him, writing, “Thank you @laurenboebert! It was great having you with Rep Warren Davidson and Rep Victoria Spartz in the district today!”
Newsweek reached out to Boebert, Massie, and the White House on Saturday.
Trump Targets Massie
In the Kentucky Republican primary, Trump has endorsed former Navy Seal officer Ed Gallrein. In March, Trump slammed Massie at a rally, calling him a “a complete and total disaster as a congressman” who is “disloyal to the people of Kentucky, and most importantly, he is disloyal to the United States of America.”
Trump’s anger stems from Massie’s repeated breaks with him on key legislative and policy matters. The libertarian-leaning lawmaker voted against the final version of Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” has been a vocal critic of the Iran war, and pushed aggressively for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
Massie has defended himself partly by saying he votes with Trump most of the time. According to an analysis by CQ Roll Call, a Washington, D.C.-based media and legislative tracking company, Massie voted with Trump 77.6 percent of the time last year.
In response to Boebert’s post of him and Trump together, Massie wrote, “Lauren is a great friend, and like most of my friends, she likes both Trump and me! Yes it’s possible!!”
A Quantus Insights poll published Wednesday found Massie is trailing Gallrein 48.3 percent to 43.1 percent. The survey of 903 likely Republican primary voters was conducted between May 11-12 and had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.3 percentage points.
MAGA Attacks Boebert
While Massie downplayed the friction, Trump’s online base did not. High-profile MAGA accounts swiftly turned on Boebert, with some calling for her to face a primary challenger of her own.
X account @LexiMurica, who has over 17,000 followers, wrote: “Time to primary Boebert another RINO snake.” RINO is an acronym for “Republican in name only.”
The account @ChatByCC—self-described as “Original MAGA” and with 257,000 followers—posted: “Lauren Boebert’s endorsement of Massie won’t breathe life into his chances to win in Kentucky. Lauren Boebert’s endorsement is suicide for her future with President Trump and MAGA.”
X account @PAMarine412—also self-described as MAGA—wrote: “You’re here because you pretended to be MAGA and the people trusted you but it turns out, you’re just another stupid RINO b****.”
Another MAGA-linked account, @1Nicdar, with over 450,000 followers, wrote: “I’m about to say something good about Thomas Massie, so you might wanna sit down. He can expose a RINO like no other. Today’s winner is Lauren Boebert.”
The MAGA-aligned account @JayTC53 added: “I like Boebert but without a doubt, this is the biggest mistake of her career. We don’t care about your ‘friendship’ with Massie. He sides with the Democrats. He sides and votes with the people that wish to destroy this country and destroy President Trump.”
The backlash also reignited criticism over Boebert’s bipartisan optics, specifically a photo she shared in April smiling alongside Colorado’s Democratic Governor, Jared Polis, at a baseball game.
Boebert, however, attempted to leverage her relationship with Polis on Friday, taking credit for influencing his decision to grant clemency to Tina Peters. Peters, a former Mesa County clerk and staunch Trump ally, was sentenced in 2024 to nine years in prison for her role in a 2021 election data security breach.
“My heart was filled with joy when [Polis] called me today to share this great news,” Boebert posted, noting she had held multiple conversations with the governor regarding Peters’ “unjust punishment.” Trump had also heavily campaigned for her release, posting “FREE TINA!” on Truth Social earlier that day.
Peters is scheduled to be released on parole on June 1.
A Litmus Test for the GOP
The political fallout for Boebert and Massie serves as a real-time litmus test for Trump’s enduring influence over the GOP ahead of this year’s midterms. In addition to Massie, Trump has targeted Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy, who voted to convict him during his second impeachment trial in the wake of the U.S. Capitol riot. On Saturday, Trump escalated his rhetoric, calling Cassidy a “disloyal disaster.”
Like Massie, Cassidy is also facing a Trump-backed challenger in his primary, which is today.
Related Articles
