Donald Trump has been put on notice: either get with the program, or face punishment from a younger generation of hardcore libertarian challengers - who also happen to be fully aligned with Vladimir Putin’s policy agenda. That was the message, sent loud and clear, when Elon Musk called Trump’s signature Big Beautiful Bill a “disgusting abomination” this week.

Online, two names quickly became associated with Musk’s rebuke: Senator Rand Paul and Rep. Thomas Massie, both Kentucky Republicans and vocal critics of recent budget proposals. Just seven minutes after Musk’s post, Massie endorsed it, saying “He’s right,” with Rand Paul following about eight minutes later, adding, “I agree with Elon. We have both seen the massive waste in government spending and we know another $5 trillion in debt is a huge mistake. We can and must do better.”

Pushback by Massie and Paul against the Trump bill sparked a flurry of posts on X promoting a Paul/Massie (or vice versa) ticket for 2028, suggesting a nascent effort to transfer MAGA adherents to new, more strictly libertarian flag-bearers, and away from Trump’s cult of personality. However, few potential successors — perhaps least of all Vice President J.D. Vance — possess Trump’s ability to engage his base.

Lest anyone be tempted to kick tire on Thomas Massie or Rand Paul as potentially less unhinged alternatives to the mercurial Trump, it would be wise to temper expectations. Massie has introduced legislation in both 2024 and 2025 to “End the Federal Reserve” — a longtime Putin policy wish.

The tide is turning against Donald Trump, driven by the libertarian faction within his own party, and rooted in frustration at the home office back in Moscow. It seems that the Kremlin is hungry for change and is unlikely to wait until 2028 to achieve it. Donald Trump needs to decide whether to fall in line with his masters or provoke a damaging civil war within the fragile Republican coalition.