On June 8th, 2026, retiring U.S. Republican Rep. (also grifter, laughable libertarian, and self-serving politician) Thomas Massie (KY-4) gave a floor speech about one of the most debunked conspiracy theories prevalent among the online woke right. He went off on the USS Liberty incident, calling out Israel’s “deliberate” attack on an American ship on June 8th, 1967.
The event has long been recognized as a horrific example of mistaken identity and friendly fire, one that still plagues modern warfare despite incredible technological innovations. In an article I wrote a year ago, I exposed the truth about this incident—friendly-fire tragedy—and how anti-Semites and anti-Zionists (although telling the difference between the two is getting harder by the day) exploit this tragic event to demonize Israel.
Massie, who has turned his Congressional tenure into a relentless hatefest against all things Jewish and Israeli, insisted on propping up the conspiracy theory, because, well, why exactly?
Congressmen who lose their primaries become lame ducks. They have no incentive to play along with leadership, since they leave office the first week of January the next year. They can find respectable ways to spend the twilight of their political careers: retire early, cash in their pension, start writing that memoir, or get a job at one of the remaining corporate news agencies. They can also do everything they can to frustrate the powers that be who rubbed them out in the primary.
One would think that they would do well on their way out. Instead of taking a more honorable exit, Massie is proving to everyone what little character he has. He has served in Congress since 2012, but only now does he want to talk about the USS Liberty incident? Only now does he care about the plight of those veterans and their story?
Eleven American commissions have investigated the USS Liberty incident and have concluded that it was an accident. Never mind the fact that the captain of the ship, William McGonagle, testified before the US Naval Court of Inquiry shortly after the event, affirming that it was an attack of mistaken identity. Never mind that 30 years later, at a commemoration of the event, McGonagle maintained that Israel’s attack was a case of mistaken identity, albeit “reckless and a dereliction of duty.”
Was this the only time that military allies fired on our troops and inadvertently killed them? By no means.
Massie could talk about the USS Stark incident on May 18, 1987. Two Iraqi jets fired on one of our ships, killing 37 soldiers. Silence.
We could talk about the numerous instances of friendly fire during Operation Desert Storm in 1991. Crickets from Massie and (Hate) Israel First ™.
How about The Battle of Kiska, along the Aleutian Islands, August 1943? Nothing from Massie.
We certainly can't ignore the Confederate soldiers who fired on their own general, Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson. No one could ever convince me that those Confederate soldiers were targeting their general for murder. Should we blame Israel for that?
And how many Americans have been killed by Iranians or their proxies over the last 47 years? How come Massie doesn't want to read their names in the record? How many Americans have been killed by illegal aliens in our country? U.S. Republican Rep. Abe Hamadeh (AZ-8) has introduced legislation to memorialize their names, including the children of friends of mine here in California. Instead of fighting to secure our border and deport these illegals, Massie voted against immigration enforcement.
So much for America First!
Massie is putting himself first, promoting his standing with the anti-Israel cause in this country. He wants to prepare his entry into the talking circuits and podcast wars, decrying the incident and condemning Israel. The issue remains a casus belli within the anti-Zionist movement across the country and the world. Nine times out of, well, nine, anti-Semitic elements will point to the USS Liberty incident as proof that the Jewish State is not an ally, but rather a covert menace that has harmed the United States since its inception. The anti-Zionist/anti-Semitic Left (and Right) have repeatedly insisted that on June 8th, 1967, Israel was targeting an American ship to start World War III by blaming the attack on the Arab nations, then enact their “Greater Israel” project.
Huh?
Sadly, Massie has turned into another one of these shallow congressmen who make an obsession with Israel more important than the protection of America. Every member of Congress has the right and responsibility to discuss foreign aid, trade, military engagement, and alliances with other countries, including the Jewish State. But the sick obsession with Israel, including the Kentucky Congressman’s perverse smears against the Jewish state as an executor of genocide or deliberate murderers of our troops, is beyond the pale.
Massie was a tolerable libertarian Maverick for most of his tenure. Libertarianism as a political philosophy has its problems. Elected officials who claim libertarian leanings do more to frustrate actual conservative government. To his credit, however, Massie forced the floor vote on the 2020 COVID spending. He forced votes to advance more conservative replacements and repairs for Obamacare. But going into Trump's second term, Massie really lost his way. Getting all caught up in the Epstein stuff, getting more frustrated and confrontational about Israel, serving as an arbitrary contrarian, frustrating the Trump agenda, caught on everyone else's nerves.
Massie became a flabby, sad-sack lol-bertarian who often talked a big talk but never walked the walk. He sported a little clock on your chest that calculates the national debt, but that little stunt never solved the national debt problem. Massie was the tie-breaking vote on the Rules Committee in May 2023 that advanced a horrendous spending bill to the floor. Why didn’t he vote to kill the bill and force a redo? The same Thomas Massie also propped up Swamp Speaker Kevin McCarthy.
What steps did he take to corral spending? What was his plan to work with other members of Congress to get things done? All too often, grandstanding members of Congress like Massie are more interested in promoting themselves and preparing for their post-congressional careers. And the soon-to-be former Congressman from Kentucky is exploiting veterans for this purpose.
And now, instead of preparing for an honorable exit, he dishonors our country and demonizes Israel. Numerous articles, books, and commentators have outlined the truth about the USS Liberty incident. It is laughable and stupid at this point for anyone to stir up old, repeated conspiracy theories all over again. But when you have nothing left to look forward to except Podcastistan and a future following with fellow so-called America Firsters who are obsessed over Israel, what does Massie have to lose?
There is one silver lining to soon-to-be former Congressman Massie’s USS Liberty temper tantrum. All across social media, podcasters and commentators have fact-checked the conspiracy theories, telling the truth about the USS Liberty incident. They are exposing some of the veterans (like chief spokesman Phil Tourney) for their untrammeled hatred of Jews and Israel. They are correcting the timeline and showing how Israel took every step to rectify the situation. The answer to speech will always be more speech, and truth wins out in the contest of free exchange of ideas.
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