Massie drops colorful analogy opposing foreign aid, mocks Speaker Johnson with AI-generated image

Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., has compared America’s practice of doling out aid to foreign countries to a preposterous hypothetical scenario in which an individual waters their neighbor’s yard while their own house burns. 

“US foreign aid spending is like watering the neighbor’s yard while your house is on fire,” he tweeted.

The congressman followed up his initial comment by sharing an AI-generated image of House Speaker Mike Johnson holding a hose as flames emerge from a house behind him.

Fox News Digital reached out to request comment from Massie and a spokesperson confirmed that the image was created using AI, specifically, Grok.

Vivek Ramaswamy replied to Massie’s comment about foreign aid by noting, “It’s worse – because unlike a household, U.S. government actors are spending *other* people’s money to do it.”

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Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., speaks at a campaign event for Republican presidential candidate Florida Governor Ron DeSantis at McDivot’s Indoor Sports Pub on Jan. 7, 2024, in Grimes, Iowa.  (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

President-elect Donald Trump tapped Ramaswamy and Elon Musk to advocate government cost-cutting via an effort dubbed the Department of Governmental Efficiency (DOGE). 

But getting Republicans on board with drastic spending cuts could prove problematic. 

Massie colorfully warned during a WABC radio interview, “I have Republican colleagues who’d rather run over their own mom with a car than to vote to cut spending.”

In a post on X, GOP Rep. Chip Roy of Texas agreed with Massie’s take, noting, “He’s not wrong….”

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House Judiciary Committee members Rep. Chip Roy, R-Tx., and Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., listen to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland testify before the committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill on June 4, 2024, in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

Conservatives have been savaging a government spending proposal released at the last-minute to avert the prospect of a looming partial government shutdown, even as some Republicans, including House Speaker Mike Johnson, speak out in favor of it.

“I had hoped to see @SpeakerJohnson grow a spine, but this bill full of pork shows he is a weak, weak man. The debt will continue to grow. Ultimately the dollar will fail. Democrats are clueless and Big Gov Republicans are complicit. A sad day for America,” Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., declared in a post on X.

Fox News Digital reached out to request comment from Johnson about Paul and Massie’s comments and the AI-generated image Massie shared, but a Johnson spokesperson pointed to the speaker’s interview on “Fox & Friends.”

Johnson noted during the interview that the spending measure kicks the government funding issue until March when Republicans will have control of Congress and the White House, enabling the GOP to “decide spending for 2025.” The speaker also pointed to disaster relief in the measure as well as aid related to farmers.

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“People call me ‘NostraThomas’ for accurately predicting @SpeakerJohnson would use the Christmas recess to force a massive spending bill through Congress. After claiming he would not, Johnson is embracing a D.C. tradition that’s nearly as old as decorating Christmas trees,” Massie tweeted.

Earlier this year Johnson said there would not be a “Christmas omnibus.” 

Pressed this week by Fox News senior congressional correspondent Chad Pergram, Johnson said the measure under consideration is “not an omnibus.”