Two of America’s most constitutionally obedient legislators are banding together to weather President Donald Trump’s attacks. Interestingly, the positions that have made them lightning rods for Trump’s ire are similar to the ones George Washington promoted in his Farewell Address.
Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) recently told POLITICO’s Dasha Burns that he was going to help fellow Kentuckian and libertarian kindred spirit Representative Thomas Massie (R) win his primary race in 2026. Massie has always had a stubborn independent streak, but he’s made 2025 a record year of dissent. He opposed the president’s choice for speaker of the house, the One Big Beautiful Bill, and the decision to bomb Iran. He’s also led an effort to have all Justice Department files on Jeffrey Epstein released, despite various actions congressional Republicans have taken in the name of similar transparency.
By summer, Trump had enough. He deployed his political machine on a mission to unseat and replace Massie. And two weeks ago, Trump endorsed a combat veteran named Ed Gallrein, who, based on public comments he’s made in the past, appears more aligned with Trump’s interventionist foreign policy than Massie ever was. Gallrein failed to win his race for a seat in the Kentucky State Senate last year, but now he’s got the backing of Trump’s political juggernaut.
“With Him Every Step of the Way”
Paul, who holds nearly identical positions to Massie’s, seemed confident that his friend was going to prevail. He told POLITICO, “Thomas Massie is going to win, I’m going to help him, I’m going to be with him every step of the way. I campaigned with him a month ago. We had big rallies and a great deal of support. So, people who think they can waltz into Kentucky with a bunch of New York money and buy a seat, they’ve got another thing coming.”
Paul is referring to the collection of neocon billionaires who are spending big money to oust Massie. As we’ve previously reported, the people behind the MAGA KY PAC are John Paulson, Paul Singer, and the Preserve America PAC, whose primary financier is Miriam Adelson, according to the Federal Election Commission (FEC). They have been central funding figures of the Establishment apparatus for years.
Paul pointed out to POLITICO that Massie’s fight to keep his seat has implications beyond this one race. He said:
I think what Thomas Massie represents is something bigger than him, bigger than me, and bigger than just one Congressional seat. What he represents is an independent voice within the Republican Party, a voice that believes in the Constitution and a strict interpretation of the enumerated powers, who believes in balanced budgets, low taxes and less foreign war.”
Traitor to MAGA?
Paul is the Senate’s version of Massie. He, too, voted against Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill and is profoundly bothered by the government’s reckless deficit spending. And he, too, opposes the president’s inclinations to take military action without congressional approval. Recently, Paul has been railing against the administration’s latest habit of blowing up boats in the ocean. The Trump administration says the boats were occupied by Venezuelan drug runners delivering deadly poison to America.
That might be true, Paul has said, but it’s unethical and in violation of maritime law to “blow them to smithereens” without any attempt to confirm who and what is onboard. “Is it too much to ask to know the names of those we killed before we killed them? To know what evidence exists of their guilt?” he recently said during a speech on the Senate floor. Yes, apparently it is.
Paul’s recent announcement that he was going to stump for Massie has earned him the label of traitor, oddly, by figures in the same political camp. Dinesh D’Souza, a center-right commentator who holds many otherwise sensible positions, called Paul’s support for Massie a betrayal. On Sunday, he said Paul should be primaried as well for backing Massie.
Supporters and Detractors
Many who responded to D’Souza did not agree. “I wish we had 535 Rand Paul’s and Thomas Massie’s in Congress. The only two fiscally responsible politicians who vote against insane federal deficit spending,” said one commenter. Another added, “Senator Dr Rand Paul is a member of our U.S. Senate first and foremost, which is a separate branch of our government. He owes his allegiance to our Constitution and his constituents, and a policy difference is NOT a betrayal to anyone. One would expect you to understand this.”
Someone else wrote that it was Trump who was on the wrong side here, saying, “Not so fast… Trump betrayed the American people when he chose to protect the Epstein abusers. He’s endorsed Randy Fine and Lindsay Graham, two MIGA neocons. Massie and Paul are the best Representatives in DC.” Another asked if D’Souza had been hacked. “Strange take Dinesh. Thought you were a principled man,” the commenter explained.
But there were some who agreed with D’Souza. “He should run as democrat hes [sic] a pathetic traitor to the republicans,” someone wrote of Paul. “He’s a tough one to figure out. One minute he’s great and the next he’s running cover for the Cartels,” wrote another. Another person suggested that it was the rogues from Kentucky who were selling out, lumping them in with one of the most proven neocon in modern politics: “What happened to KY, Rand Paul, Massie, and McConnell, total obstructionists. I think they are jealous of Trump not being a bought and paid for politician like them.”
Divided MAGA
Perhaps some of these replies came from bots or propaganda accounts. But even if they did, they illustrate a legitimate divide in the MAGA camp. Supporters of Massie and Paul argue they’re the real America First politicians and accuse Trump of having abandoned the movement, especially when it comes to foreign intervention. Paul mentioned Trump’s departure on MAGA foreign policy during his interview with POLITICO. “Regime change is not a part of Donald Trump’s psyche,” he said. “He’s been opposed to it. So if they get involved in regime change in Venezuela, that is something that is inconsistent with his instincts.”
But others tend to view the kerfuffle between Trump and Massie through a tribalistic lens. Because Trump hates the Democrats, and because of the good that he’s done — he has implemented solid immigration, energy, and culture policies — anyone who opposes him is an enemy. Their loyalty appears to be more to Trump and the GOP than what is legitimately good for the country.
In his interview with POLITICO, Paul highlighted the two major points of contention between Massie and Trump: those concerning government spending and foreign intervention. Despite Trump’s good policies, he’s on track to continue more than half a century of empire building and deficit spending.
Massie and Paul are among the very few, in many instances the only ones, in Trump’s party who are not afraid to publicly point out the Trump’s errors. Both have said there are other Republicans who share their concerns. They’ve spoken to these people privately, but such people too scared to say anything on the record. They’re afraid they, too, would incur Trump’s wrath. And they’re afraid to lose their next race and have to go back home.
Washington’s Warnings
George Washington wanted to go home long before he finally got to. Before departing for Mount Vernon, he wrote a farewell address, which was published in multiple newspapers. The address was supposed to serve as advice for future generations of Americans, a “disinterested warning,” as he called it, on how to create a flourishing republic.
Washington told early Americans to “sacredly maintain” the U.S. Constitution. He said that allegiance to parties — the “baneful effects of the Spirit of Party” — would “become potent engines by which cunning, ambitious, and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the Power of the People and to usurp for themselves the reins of Government.” Allegiance to parties will lead to despotism, he clarified. It will “incline the minds of men to seek security and repose in the absolute power of an Individual,” who will “sooner or later” turn “this disposition to the purposes of his own elevation, on the ruins of Public Liberty.”
Washington also said that each branch of government should stay in its constitutional lane, because the “spirit of encroachment tends to consolidate the powers of all departments in one, and thus to create, whatever the form of government, a real despotism.” Anyone who has read the entire address has likely noticed that Washington was very preoccupied with concern that the American government could turn despotic.
And more to Paul’s and Massie’s point, Washington advised against “the accumulation of debt, not only by shunning occasions of expense,” but by using times of peace to pay off war debt. He pointed out that debt requires revenue to pay off, and revenue comes by way of taxes, and the problem with taxes is that they can be “inconvenient” and “unpleasant.” Sadly, we rarely hear today’s politicians express concern for the burdens their reckless fiscal sorcery imposes on regular Americans.
Washington’s Wisdom
Washington prescribed a be-a-good-neighbor foreign policy. “Observe good faith and justice towards all Nations” and “cultivate peace and harmony with all,” he said. It’s the moral thing to do. A just, benevolent nation is a benefit to the entire world, he wisely pointed out.
He promoted a foreign policy that doesn’t favor one nation over another. Instead of “inveterate antipathies against particular nations and passionate attachments for others,” he suggested “amicable feelings towards all.” He advised against getting tied up in entangling alliances. A nation that harbors ill will toward another is inclined to get drawn into war. He said:
Sympathy for the favourite nation, facilitating the illusion of an imaginary common interest in cases where no real common interest exists, and infusing onto one the enmities of the other, betrays the former into participating in the quarrels and wars of the latter, without adequate inducement of justification.
He later espouses a doctrine of non-intervention. “Tis our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliances, with any portion of the foreign world,” he wrote. And when we do form any alliances, they should only be temporary and “for extraordinary emergencies.” As for when military action should be taken, that’s simple, he said. It should be based “on a respectable defensive posture.”
Washington also warned against foreign influence at home, something Massie has as well. Washington:
Against the insidious wiles of foreign influence, I conjure you to believe me, fellow citizens, the jealousy of a free people ought to be constantly awake, since history and experience is one of the most baneful foes of Republican Government.”
He added that we should do business with other nations, but have “as little political connection as possible.” America is in a unique geographical position, he said — a “detached and distant situation” — that enables her to stay out of problems caused by “belligerent nations.” So why leave “to stand upon foreign ground”?
If Washington were to drop in today, who would he support? Massie or Trump? Which of these two men’s vision of how the government should operate is more aligned with Washington’s vision of America First?
The answer is blatantly clear.
More Massies Needed
America needs more Massies, more Pauls — more constitutionalists. Massie’s score in TNA’s Freedom Index is one point shy of perfect, 99 percent. Paul is not far behind at 94 percent. Both have been in Congress for almost the same amount of time, since the early 2010s. They are part of a growing cohort of lawmakers who have shown a knowledge of and respect for the U.S. Constitution.
Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) has voted along Constitutional lines 98 percent of the time during his two sessions in the House. Representative Andy Biggs, another Arizona Republican, has managed a very respectable 95 percent. Utah’s Republican senator, Mike Lee, is another Congressional veteran, like Paul and Massie. His voting record aligns with the Constitution 94 percent of the time.
There are other promising newcomers. Sheri Biggs (R-S.C.) has been perfect in her freshman year. Oklahoman Josh Brecheen (R) has illustrated during his short stint in Congress that he’s willing to stay true to the Constitution. His score is a spotless 100. There’s also the fiery Georgian, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Colorado Represenative Lauren Boebert, both of whom have accumulated scores in the 90s.
America First
The reason we publish the Freedom Index is because we believe the key to American restoration is a return to constitutional principles, values that made this country so great to live in that people from all over the world have risked their lives to come here for 250 years. That’s not an accident. Unfortunately, the values and principles that made this country so great have been under assault for a century.
The fight between Massie and Trump will determine if a truly America First, constitutionally aligned movement is on the march. Massie is receiving donations from people all over the country. Have Americans awakened? Are there enough who realize that political rivalry was always a sneaky way for the Establishment to fool us into cheering on our own demise? For the sake of all Americans, we dearly hope so. The Kentuckians of House District 4 are going to tell us if MAGA is truly dedicated to America First principles.
