U.S. Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY), who is against U.S. involvement in “regime change wars,” is strongly objecting to the possibility of U.S. involvement in Iran, where President Trump has vocally backed protesters against the Iranian regime, promising them “help is on the way.”
On Tuesday, to argue the case against U.S. involvement in Iran, Massie amplified a 7-year-old post written by the President during his first administration.
On December 20, 2018, when President Trump was considering pulling U.S. troops out of Syria, he wrote on social media: “Does the USA want to be the Policeman of the Middle East, getting NOTHING but spending precious lives and trillions of dollars protecting others who, in almost all cases, do not appreciate what we are doing? Do we want to be there forever? Time for others to finally fight…..”
Massie replied to Trump’s old post, in the context of present-day circumstances: “No thank you. Let’s pass on that.”
No thank you. Let’s pass on that. https://t.co/k6soIiSli9
— Thomas Massie (@RepThomasMassie) January 13, 2026
Massie’s comment is spurring negative and positive reactions from the MAGA base. Those in favor of protecting protestors in Iran are leaving comments including “a few bombs to help the locals oust violent tyrants could be in order though” while those against U.S. involvement left comments including, “I’ll pass too. I think the wise stay as far away from the ME as they can get. Let them figure it out.”
When Trump published that post in December 2018, self-described “Roosevelt Republican” political pundit Christopher Zullo argued: “Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of Syria will have major implications. Russia and Iran will engage in a power grab. We’ll be pulling out the force that’s suppressed extremists in the region. We also will be abandoning the Kurds who have been allys [sic] in the fight against ISIS.”
Note: When Trump announced his intent to withdraw all U.S. forces from Syria in 2019, Defense Secretary James Mattis pushed back and ultimately resigned in protest.
In December 2025, Trump’s Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth (who had a portrait of Mattis removed from the Pentagon) ordered military strikes in Syria to “eliminate” Islamic State group fighters and weapons sites in retaliation for an ambush attack that killed two U.S. troops.
Hegseth said of the operation: “This is not the beginning of a war — it is a declaration of vengeance. The United States of America, under President Trump’s leadership, will never hesitate and never relent to defend our people.”