After Consultant Thomas Massie, an outspoken Republican critic of President Trump, misplaced his seat in a carefully watched major final week, he brushed off questions about his future political aspirations by saying he was going to run — again to his off-the-grid Kentucky farm.
However as Mr. Massie contemplated his future, and recovered from the most expensive House primary lately, he set a heading this week for sandier horizons, flying to Costa Rica. Ready for him when he landed was a well-recognized Trump antagonist from the Republican Get together: former Consultant Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.
Ms. Greene, who maintains a home within the Central American nation, arrived there earlier this month for a two-week birthday journey, her fiancé, Brian Glenn, mentioned in an interview. In current days, Ms. Greene invited Mr. Massie and his spouse, Carolyn, to hop a last-minute flight to hitch them on the home, and the congressman arrived on Tuesday, Mr. Glenn mentioned.
In a picture that Mr. Glenn posted on InstagramMr. Massie and Ms. Greene stand shoulder to shoulder as they smile broadly on the seashore, their companions at every of their sides. The group spent Wednesday fishing, Mr. Glenn mentioned, as they celebrated Ms. Greene’s 52nd birthday.
“We had fun out on the water,” mentioned Mr. Glenn, including that they’d some “spicy” conversations about politics. Mr. Massie wanted a “break” after his bruising marketing campaign, Mr. Glenn mentioned. “We’re pleased to supply a break.”
On Wednesday evening, Mr. Massie posted a video on social media exhibiting him and Ms. Greene smiling and laughing whereas fishing.
The go to has introduced collectively two longtime associates who’ve confronted a backlash from Mr. Trump over their criticism of the battle with Iran and the federal government’s dealing with of information associated to the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Mr. Massie, a seven-term congressman with a penchant for drinking raw milk and registering patents for innovations, noticed his profile rise in current months as he sparred with Mr. Trump, saying he couldn’t totally abide by the Republican agenda if it included “bankrupting the nation or protecting up for pedophiles or beginning one other battle.”
Mr. Trump responded by placing his full weight behind Ed Gallrein, a farmer and a Republican major challenger to Mr. Massie. The president visited the district to name on Kentucky voters to oust Mr. Massie, describing him because the worst congressman in the history of the Republican Party.
Ultimately, Mr. Massie couldn’t overcome Mr. Trump’s intervention, losing by about 10 percentage points in his deep-red Kentucky district. However the congressman solid his defeat as successful of kinds, telling The Cincinnati Enquirer that his opponents had “purchased a congressional seat.”
“However within the course of we’ve impressed lots of people to run for state rep or metropolis council and even Congress,” Mr. Massie advised the newspaper, including that he would possibly run once more himself. “And so I do suppose it was a victory, despite the fact that we misplaced.”
Earlier this week, Mr. Massie filed a statement of candidacy permitting him to lift cash for a possible run for workplace in 2028, based on Federal Election Fee data.
The doc prompt he can be in search of workplace within the Home. However Mr. Massie wrote on social media that he had not determined what workplace, if any, he would possibly run for in two years.
Ms. Greene, a conspiracy theorist who was as soon as one in every of Mr. Trump’s most fervent supporters in Congress, resigned from office at the beginning of the 12 months, saying she didn’t want to endure a bruising major in opposition to a Trump-backed opponent.
Like Mr. Massie, she had forcefully criticized the president over the Epstein information. Mr. Trump, in flip, branded her a “traitor.”
