Fact Check: Did the Kentucky Republican Party vote to expel Thomas Massie?
FRANKFORT, KENTUCKY: Amid the tensions within the Republican Party over criticisms against President Donald Trump, a rumor began circulating on social media platforms claiming that the Republican Party in Kentucky has expelled Rep Thomas Massie through a vote. The claim has sparked questions and speculation, prompting a fact-check.
Claim: Kentucky Republican Party expelled Thomas Massie
🚨KENTUCKY REPUBLICAN PARTY VOTES 368-1 TO EXPEL THOMAS MASSIE FOR LIFE — THE ONLY VOTE AGAINST IT WAS MASSIE’S OWN, AND IT WAS HIS LAST!
— John McAfee 🇺🇸 News (@mcafeenew) July 20, 2026
🔗 https://t.co/pMgRBPgeSz
This is the end of the road for the biggest RINO in Kentucky history.
The Republican Party of Kentucky just… pic.twitter.com/mjapnaSoet
According to a claim that surfaced on X, the Republican Party of Kentucky just voted overwhelmingly, 368 to 1, to expel Thomas Massie for life, and the only vote against it was Massie’s own.
The post shows Massie as a "RINO" (Republican In Name Only), accusing him of consistently opposing President Trump and the America First agenda, stating that Kentucky Republicans have "officially kicked him out for good."
The post ends by claiming that Massie's political career is essentially over because he supposedly chose "his ego and his donors" over his constituents.
Fact Check: False, no credible evidence to support the claim
The claim, however, is false, as there are no publicly available reports about Massie being expelled by his own party.
A search on Google for the claim yielded no relevant reports by credible news outlets.
Given Massie’s significance in the party and his active stance against the president, the news would have made headlines, triggering widespread controversy and debate. Hence, the claim is marked as untrue.
The account that posted the claim is also not credible, and though not explicitly a parody account, most of its posts are fake, unverified claims, likely intended as satire.
A fact check by Grok debunked the claim, stating, “The claim in the post is misleading. While Rep. Thomas Massie did lose his Republican primary in May 2026 to a Trump-endorsed challenger amid ongoing tensions with the party, there is no verified evidence of a Kentucky GOP convention vote of 368-1 to ‘expel him for life.’"
"The dramatic framing appears to be an exaggeration of his primary defeat and prior conflicts with Trump-aligned Republicans.”
Donald Trump blasted Thomas Massie
In May, ahead of the Kentucky primary, Trump strongly criticized Massie in a statement, calling him "the worst and most unreliable Republican Congressman in the history of our Country," and he urged voters to replace him.
Trump stated that "Tom Massie of Kentucky, the worst and most unreliable Congressman in the history of our Country, is an even bigger insult to our Nation than Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, who suffered an unprecedented loss tonight by not even being allowed to run in the Republican Primary."