Republican Calls Out Trump's 'Ridiculous Bullying Tactics' in Florida Race

Representative Thomas Massie, a Kentucky Republican, called out Donald Trump's "ridiculous bullying tactics" on social media on Monday after the former president targeted a fellow GOP lawmaker currently serving in Florida.

Trump, the presumptive GOP nominee in the 2024 presidential race, asked in a Truth Social post on Sunday night if any "great MAGA [Make American Great Again] Republicans" were looking to run against Representative Laurel Lee, a Florida Republican who represents the state's 15th District. Lee previously served as Florida's secretary of state under Governor Ron DeSantis and endorsed the governor's 2024 presidential campaign last spring. However, she has since switched her support to Trump in light of DeSantis suspending his bid for president.

Currently, the congresswoman's reelection campaign for 2024 is not facing any GOP challengers. But the former president prompted any Republicans aligned with his MAGA movement that may want to take on Lee to "PLEASE STEP FORWARD," which sparked pushback from a handful of conservatives who also backed DeSantis' presidential campaign against Trump.

"This is unhelpful and unwarranted," Massie wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on Monday afternoon. "@RepLaurelLee is a conservative thoughtful member of the judiciary committee. She endorsed DeSantis for President but then endorsed Trump when DeSantis got out of the race. More of my colleagues should call out these ridiculous bullying tactics."

Representative Chip Roy, a Texas Republican who also backed DeSantis' 2024 campaign, responded to Massie's statement roughly an hour after it was posted, simply writing, "Co-sponsor."

Newsweek has reached out to Trump's campaign and Lee's office via email for comment.

A handful of prominent Trump supports indicated their potential interest in running against Lee, including Jackie Toledo, a former Florida state lawmaker who lost in the GOP congressional primary to Lee in 2022.

"Great MAGA Republican answering the call and ready to serve... #MAGA," Toledo posted to X, along with a photo of her wearing a cowboy hat that reads, "Trump 2020."

Laura Loomer, a far-right activist and twice-failed Republican congressional candidate in Florida, also reacted to Trump's critique of Lee on X, claiming in one post that she had received "over 22 phone calls from Republican officials today telling me to run against Laurel Lee."

"As people know, @RepLaurelLee's district isn't too far away from where I ran for Congress, and I raised $3 million when I ran for Congress," Loomer added. "President Trump likes me. That always helps, right? What do all of you think?

Former New York Representative George Santos, an avid Trump supporter who was expelled from Congress in December, also shared his thoughts regarding Lee's campaign, writing on X, "Love Trump and think he's dead wrong on the Laurel Lee situation. My two cents for what it's worth..."