'Anti-Trump' U.S. Congressman Targeted as $48 Billion Poured Into Defeat Ads

A Flurry of Attack Ads Targeting Thomas Massie
Record-High Ad Spending in U.S. House Primary
Trump: "The Worst Republican Congressman in History"

Hundreds of billions of won are being poured into campaigns aimed at defeating members of the U.S. House of Representatives who have opposed President Donald Trump.

According to U.S. political news outlet Politico on the 17th (local time), spending on advertisements targeting Representative Thomas Massie to prevent his reelection ahead of the Kentucky Republican House primary has exceeded $32 million (approximately 48 billion won). This marks the largest advertising expenditure in the history of House primary elections.

A significant portion of this enormous funding is reportedly coming from pro-Israel organizations. The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) spent $5 million on three advertisements, including ones criticizing Representative Massie for rejecting a resolution condemning Iran's drone attacks. The Republican Jewish Coalition (RJC) Victory Fund also spent $4 million on six related ads criticizing him.

U.S. President Donald Trump. Photo by UPI News Agency

Classified as part of the Republican Party's younger faction, Representative Massie is one of the few Republicans who has publicly opposed President Trump's Iran military operations. He has also criticized AIPAC for exerting excessive influence over U.S. foreign policy. In a recent interview, Representative Massie stated, "I am neither anti-Semitic nor opposed to Israel," adding, "(Certain groups) are trying to equate criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's policies with opposition to Israel itself." He continued, "The core issue in this election is whether pro-Israel forces can actually unseat a Republican lawmaker who is skeptical of Netanyahu's policies."

On the other hand, the pro-Israel camp is openly emphasizing the need to remove Representative Massie. Gabe Groisman, former RJC director, said, "It is extremely important to unseat Massie," and stressed, "Voices that are anti-Israel should remain outside the policy-making process, not become the voices within Congress."

President Trump also publicly criticized Representative Massie. On this day, he said, "The bad congressman Massie voted against tax cuts, the border wall, our military, and law enforcement agencies. In fact, he voted against everything good," calling him "the worst Republican congressman in history."

President Trump also took a jab at Representative Massie, a Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) graduate, this past March, saying, "Not everyone who went to a good college is smart." He then mentioned his own uncle, former MIT professor John G. Trump, stating, "My uncle was a professor at MIT for 41 years," and added, "That means I have much better blood."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.