Thomas Massie, the seven-term Kentucky congressman who just lost his primary, flew to Costa Rica this week and joined Marjorie Taylor Greene on a fishing boat, six days after President Trump's endorsement of his challenger ended his career in the House. The two ousted Republicans are now posting about their getaway on social media, calling it the "America First Pacific Summit Retreat."
Greene, who left Congress in January rather than face a Trump-backed opponent, has a home in Costa Rica. She invited Massie to take a last-minute flight down for what had already been planned as a two-week birthday trip with her fiancé, Brian Glenn, The Daily Beast reported. Glenn, a former White House correspondent for Real America's Voice, picked Massie up from the airport.
The optics are hard to miss. Two Republican members who publicly broke with the president, on Iran, on the Epstein files, on the broader direction of the party, are now relaxing together in Central America and stamping the trip with Trump's own "America First" branding. Whether that amounts to deliberate provocation or just two friends blowing off steam depends on how seriously you take Instagram captions.
Massie posted a video on X showing himself in a white shirt and trunks reeling in a large swordfish off the Costa Rican coast. His caption:
"America First Pacific Summit Retreat"
Greene reshared the post with a sunglasses emoji and her own message:
"The first summit is underway, more to come."
Glenn, meanwhile, shared a photo on Instagram of all four travelers, Massie, Greene, Glenn, and Massie's wife Carolyn Grace Moffa, with the breezy caption, "So I was just walking along the beach..." The following day, he posted a birthday tribute to Greene near a beach: "52 looks GOOOOD on you. Happy Birthday Marjorie! I love you."
Glenn told The New York Times the group had "a good time out on the water" and said they had "spicy" conversations about politics during the trip. He framed the invitation as a kindness after Massie's bruising loss.
"We're happy to provide a break."
The path to a Costa Rican fishing boat runs through a series of increasingly public clashes with the White House. Massie and Greene were among the loudest Republican critics of the DOJ's handling of the release of the Epstein files. Greene said bluntly on X that "releasing the Epstein files was our demise." Both also said they opposed Trump's war with Iran.
Greene's break with Trump grew sharp enough that she called for the 25th Amendment against the president, a remarkable turn for someone who once served as one of his most visible allies in the House.
In November, Greene posted a lengthy statement that read less like a resignation and more like a manifesto. She wrote:
"I refuse to be a 'battered wife' hoping it all goes away and gets better. If I am cast aside by MAGA Inc. and replaced by Neocons, Big Pharma, Big Tech, Military Industrial War Complex, foreign leaders and the elite donor class that can't even relate to real Americans, then many common Americans have been cast aside as well."
She left Congress in January. Massie lasted a few months longer.
In May, Trump endorsed Ed Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL, for Kentucky's 4th Congressional District. The resulting primary became one of the most expensive House races in memory, and Massie lost. He told The Cincinnati Enquirer afterward:
"And so I do think it was a victory, even though we lost."
That's the kind of line a politician delivers when the wound is still fresh. Massie will have to return to Washington to serve out the rest of his term until early 2027.
The president's role in both departures is direct and documented. He endorsed Gallrein specifically to remove Massie. Greene chose to leave rather than fight a Trump-backed challenger in Georgia. Both lawmakers had crossed Trump on policy, not on personality, not on style, but on substance.
Massie had tangled with the White House over the Epstein files and a Colorado water bill veto, alleging that Trump vetoed the bill after a dispute over the files. Greene went further, publicly calling the president's Easter post about Iran "insane" and saying the administration should "beg forgiveness", language that would have been unthinkable from her even a year earlier.
Trump, for his part, has not been subtle about the personal dimension. In April, with Glenn present in the Oval Office, the president said:
"You know, you act so good. I love this guy. He's a great guy, even though I don't love his girlfriend too much."
That was a reference to Greene. Glenn, standing in the room, took it in stride. The moment captured something about the current state of the MAGA coalition: Trump rewards loyalty and punishes dissent, even when the dissenters were once among his loudest champions.
Brian Glenn appears to be stepping back from political media. In an interview with conservative podcaster Eric Bolling, he reflected on his career and signaled a shift in priorities:
"This has been really the only life I've known, you know, chasing the news, being in front of the camera, a lot of times behind the camera, and especially in the last seven, eight years, following President Trump, being kind of the MAGA mouthpiece, if you will, for the Trump America First agenda. And of course, Marjorie and I, planning a wedding, likely before the end of the year. That's a little bit of breaking news... as well. Focus on that, but really focus on each other. And I think that this campaign can be grueling. It can really kind of drain the life out of a lot of people. And I'm 56 years old. I'm not a young kid anymore."
Glenn had previously made headlines for a testy exchange with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, in which Glenn asked about Zelensky's wardrobe. Zelensky replied that he would wear a "costume" when the war finished, adding, "Maybe something like yours, yes. Maybe something better, I don't know. Maybe something cheaper."
The broader pattern Trump has established, publicly rebuking allies who criticize him on Iran or other policies, now extends well beyond Massie and Greene. Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Candace Owens, and Alex Jones have all drawn fire. The question is whether the president's willingness to purge dissent strengthens the movement or narrows it.
The Daily Beast's headline calls the Costa Rica trip "trolling." Maybe. The "America First Pacific Summit Retreat" label is obviously tongue-in-cheek. But the underlying message is serious enough: two former Republican members of Congress, both pushed out by the president they once championed, are signaling they aren't going quietly.
Greene's post, "The first summit is underway, more to come", suggests this is a beginning, not a farewell tour. Whether that means a media venture, a political comeback, or just more social media posts from a fishing boat remains to be seen.
Massie, for his part, suggested to The Cincinnati Enquirer that he had no problem with running again. He still has a seat in Congress until early 2027. Greene has a home in Costa Rica and a wedding to plan. Neither appears to be fading into obscurity.
The open questions are real. What exactly did the Epstein files controversy cost them? What form does "more to come" take? And does the Republican Party have room for members who agree with the president on 90 percent of policy but refuse to stay quiet on the other 10?
In May, after Massie's defeat, Greene posted on X that she was "proud and thankful" to have served with him, calling him "a giant among weak pathetic men." The jab was aimed at their former colleagues, not at voters. But it captured the bitterness of two people who believed they were doing exactly what the base wanted, and got shown the door anyway.
A movement that only tolerates agreement isn't a movement. It's a loyalty test. And loyalty tests have a way of shrinking the room until nobody's left but the people who never had the nerve to disagree in the first place.