Thomas Massie Slams Trump Boasting About ‘Shaking Down’ a Private Company
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“Imagine if Biden or Obama had bragged about shaking down a private company for 10% public ownership,” Massie fumed The post Thomas Massie Slams Trump Boasting About ‘Shaking Down’ a Private Company first appeared on Mediaite.
(Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images)
Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) slammed President Donald Trump this week for boasting about forcing a U.S. company to give the government a 10 percent stake in return for a bailout.
“Imagine if Biden or Obama had bragged about shaking down a private company for 10% public ownership,” wrote Massie on social media while sharing a clip of Trump’s boast.
“Where are the supposed stalwarts of free markets like @club4rowth or @Heritage or @freedomcaucus?” added Massie, listing off some of the right’s most prominent free-market supporting groups.
Imagine if Biden or Obama had bragged about shaking down a private company for 10% public ownership.
Where are the supposed stalwarts of free markets like @club4growth or @Heritage or @freedomcaucus ? pic.twitter.com/B7WkIzI3my
, Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) July 1, 2026
In the Wednesday clip, Trump says, “And then I got, as a gift, another gift, I said to Intel, ‘Give the United States of…’ they needed something, they needed some help, the chip maker. I said, ‘Give the U.S. of America’, I’ll do it for you, ‘but give the U.S. of America 10 percent of your company.’ He said, ‘You have a deal.’ He said it so fast, I said, ‘I should have asked for more.’ But he said, ‘You have a deal.’ And that stake is now worth $80 billion. I made $80 billion for the country in eight months. Does anybody talk about it? No. Have a good time. Have a good flight. Enjoy the plane.”
Trump first announced the government taking over part of Intel in August of 2025, which also sparked anger among conservatives at the time.
Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) said of Trump’s announcement, “If socialism is government owning the means of production, wouldn’t the government owning part of Intel be a step toward socialism? Terrible idea.”
“Surely if former President Joe Biden had ‘invested’ in a major energy concern under the power of, say, a climate emergency, Republicans would have melted down over ‘socialism,’” The Washington Examiner’s David Harsanyi argued in a column.
Trump opposed Massie’s reelection and helped to push him out of Congress this summer by endorsing his GOP primary opponent, who soundly went on to beat Massie.
The post Thomas Massie Slams Trump Boasting About ‘Shaking Down’ a Private Company first appeared on Mediaite.