KY Sen. Paul says he was uninvited to White House picnic. Trump says that’s not true
Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul criticized President Donald Trump and his staff Wednesday after claiming he had been uninvited to a picnic at the White House.
Trump countered Thursday that Paul’s claim was untrue and that the Kentucky congressman was still invited to the annual event on the South Lawn.
The incident marked the pair’s latest feud during the first few months of Trump’s second term.
Paul has criticized Trump’s spending bill for adding to the national deficit, and on Tuesday, he compared a planned military parade honoring the U.S. Army’s 250th anniversary to celebrations in North Korea.
Paul told reporters on Wednesday he was planning to attend the picnic with his son, daughter-in-law and 6-month-old grandson, but he learned he had been the first senator to be uninvited from the event.
“I just find this incredibly petty,” Paul told reporters. “I have been nothing but polite to the president. I have been an intellectual opponent, a public policy opponent, and he chose to now uninvite me from the picnic, to say my grandson can’t come to the picnic. The level of immaturity is beyond words.”
The Congressional Picnic, held every summer, is described as a nonpartisan event where all members of the House and Senate, plus their families, gather to socialize, according to the Washington Post.
Sen. Mitch McConnell — who also has a tense relationship with Trump — was invited to the picnic, according to Stephanie Penn, a spokesperson for the senator.
Northern Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie also said on social media his tickets to the picnic were withheld. But John Kennedy, communications director for Massie’s office, later clarified that Massie did get invited and thanked Trump for the tickets.
“Incredibly petty & shortsighted of Trump’s staff to exclude Republicans from the annual White House picnic while inviting Pelosi and every Democrat,” Massie said on X.
Massie, like Paul, has drawn Trump’s ire for opposing the president’s “big, beautiful bill,” which is currently in the hands of the Senate. The president has previously called for Massie to be primaried for his defiant stances.
Paul said he learned he’d been uninvited when he was trying to get tickets to the picnic. No explanation was provided, he said, and he didn’t know if the decision was made by Trump or his staffers.
“They’ve decided they want to declare war on my family and exclude us from the White House, and I just think it’s incredibly petty,” Paul said.
Trump responded on his social media site, Truth Social, on Thursday. He said Paul’s invitation had not been rescinded, and he also noted that the picnic gave him another chance to encourage Paul to vote for Trump’s spending bill.
Trump noted in the Truth Social post that Paul was a notoriously difficult person to sway, but he described the spending bill as “one of the greatest and most important pieces of legislation ever put before our Senators & Congressmen/women,” Trump said.
Paul has opposed the bill because it is projected to increase the national deficit, according to NBC News. The Congressional Budget Office estimated the bill could add $2.4 trillion to the national debt over the next decade.
The legislation is also projected to leave 10.9 million people without health insurance because of cuts and new eligibility rules under Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act, according to NBC News.
The bill passed in the House of Representatives 215–214 in May, with Massie casting just one of two GOP votes in opposition.
High-ranking Republicans want to pass a revised version of the bill by July 4.
“I’m arguing from a true belief and worry that our country is mired in debt and getting worse, and they choose to react by uninviting my grandson to the picnic,” Paul said. “It really makes me lose a lot of respect I once had for Donald Trump.”
Paul posted once more on X Thursday afternoon, noting that Trump’s latest post about his invitation was a “promising sign of things to come.”
On Paul’s personal account, he posted a photo of himself holding his grandson, who was wearing Trump’s signature “Make America Great Again” slogan on a hat.
“Turns out my grandson is actually invited to the Congressional Picnic! He is ready!” the senator posted.
This story was originally published June 12, 2025 at 2:45 PM.
