{"id":2604821,"date":"2026-05-20T00:12:02","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T04:12:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-and-allies-take-victory-lap-after-massies-defeat-in-kentucky\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T00:12:58","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T04:12:58","slug":"trump-and-allies-take-victory-lap-after-massies-defeat-in-kentucky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-and-allies-take-victory-lap-after-massies-defeat-in-kentucky\/","title":{"rendered":"Trump and allies take victory lap after Massie&#8217;s defeat in Kentucky"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Ftrump-and-allies-take-victory-lap-after-massies-defeat-in-kentucky%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2604821&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Donald Trump and his political allies celebrated after Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) lost his Republican primary to Trump-backed challenger Ed Gallrein. Trump said Massie \u201cdeserves to lose,\u201d while Trump\u2019s \u201cWar Room\u201d messaging account asked, \u201cWho\u2019s next?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With most votes counted, Gallrein led 54.4% to 45.6% (as called by the Associated press). Trump-linked operatives also highlighted Massie\u2019s defeat through <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/why-this-average-american-is-voting-for-donald-trump\/\" title=\"Why This Average American Is Voting for ...\">social media posts<\/a>, including a reference to Trump\u2019s earlier controversial outburst captured on camera.<\/p>\n<p>the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/massie-mocks-trumps-roman-empire-ballroom-in-scathing-concession-speech\/\" title=\"Massie mocks ...&#039;s &#039;Roman Empire&#039; ballroom in scathing concession speech\">article frames massie\u2019<\/a>s loss as part of Trump\u2019s broader effort to unseat party members who resist his agenda, <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >citing othre recent setbacks<\/a> for Republicans targeted after bucking Trump-such as Sen. Bill Cassidy and several Indiana state senators.<\/p>\n<p>Massie told supporters to stay focused and not retaliate, saying they were running for their beliefs rather than directly against Trump or Gallrein. The race is described as unusually expensive, including heavy spending by Trump-aligned groups and pro-Israel organizations, and Trump communications personnel emphasized his influence afterward.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<article class=\"fn-body\">\n<p>President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"4\">Donald Trump<\/a> and his top messengers took a victory lap on Tuesday night after Rep. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/thomas-massie\/\" type=\"post_tag\" id=\"17668\">Thomas Massie<\/a>\u2019s (R-KY) primary loss to Republican Ed Gallrein, who had the president\u2019s backing. <\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe was a bad guy,\u201d Trump <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/CBSNews\/status\/2056901340157108537\">told<\/a> reporters when asked about Massie\u2019s primary loss. \u201cHe deserves to lose.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>With 74% of votes counted, Gallrein was leading with 54.4% of the vote compared to Massie\u2019s 45.6% when the <em>Associated Press <\/em>called the race at 7:54 p.m. Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWho\u2019s next?\u201d the Trump War Room, the messaging account for Trump\u2019s political operations, posted to X after the primary. <\/p>\n<section class=\"explore-more-section\" id=\"wex-recommended-widget\">\n<div class=\"magazine-container single\">\n<h1 class=\"magazine-title mt-2\">Recommended Stories<\/h1>\n<p>             <i class=\"fa-solid fa-play icon\"><\/i>         <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-grid\">\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4575617\/maureen-galindo-zionists-ice-internment-camps\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Texas Democratic House candidate vows to intern Zionists and ex-ICE officers<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/house\/4575766\/thomas-massie-hints-2028-run-kentucky\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Massie hints at a run in 2028: \u2018We\u2019ll talk about it later\u2019<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<div class=\"explore-card\">                         <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4573226\/pennsylvania-7th-district-democratic-primary-results\/?itm_source=parsely-api\">                             <\/p>\n<div class=\"explore-thumb-wrap\">                                                                                                                                  <\/div>\n<h3>Bob Brooks wins Pennsylvania\u2019s 7th District primary to take on Ryan Mackenzie in general election<\/h3>\n<p>                         <\/a>                     <\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/section>\n<p>Chris LaCivita, Trump\u2019s 2024 co-campaign manager, tagged Massie in a post on X and attached a photo of Trump taken earlier this year in which he <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/01\/13\/us\/politics\/trump-heckler-middle-finger.html\">flashed his middle finger<\/a> at a heckler who accused him of being a \u201cpedophile protector.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>Massie\u2019s loss is the latest in Trump\u2019s efforts to oust members of the party who stymie his agenda.<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) lost his shot at reelection after being targeted for voting to impeach Trump five years ago for the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot, and several Indiana state senators lost GOP primaries last month to Trump-backed challengers after refusing the president\u2019s push for mid-decade redistricting.<\/p>\n<p>The Kentucky Republican, meanwhile, earned the president\u2019s ire over his efforts to force the Department of Justice to release the Epstein files and his vote against Trump\u2019s signature tax cut law last year.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe ran a race that you can be proud of,\u201d Massie told supporters Tuesday night following his defeat. \u201cYou have to apologize to nobody tomorrow for anything you did, and we kept smiling the whole time when I was called a moron at the prayer breakfast. I said, \u2018I\u2019m glad I\u2019m in his prayers.&#8217;\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJust that would be my advice to you all,\u201d Massie continued, \u201cDon\u2019t dig in, don\u2019t get mad, don\u2019t even try to get even. Just stay on your course, get your stuff done, get the things you care about done. We weren\u2019t really running against Ed Gallrein, we weren\u2019t running against Donald Trump, we were running for what we believe in.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4575268\/kentucky-4th-congressional-district-primary-thomas-massie-ed-gallrein\/\"><strong>TRUMP-BACKED ED GALLREIN DEFEATS THOMAS MASSIE IN KENTUCKY<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The race broke records as the most expensive House primary race in history. At least $32 million was spent on ads throughout the overall race. Trump-aligned groups poured more than $7 million into the race, while pro-Israel organizations spent another $9 million to unseat Massie.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDo not ever doubt President Trump and his political power,\u201d Steven Cheung, an assistant to the president and White House director of communications, posted on X. \u201cF*** around, find out.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Trump celebrated Tuesday after Ed Gallrein beat Thomas Massie in Kentucky primary<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2912,"featured_media":2604822,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-collage-1er0atxjw-1770858294513-e1779246819237.jpg?1770840367&amp;w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[12830,4850,3634],"class_list":["post-2604821","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-kentucky","tag-massie","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-collage-1er0atxjw-1770858294513-e1779246819237.jpg?1770840367&amp;w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2604821","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2912"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2604821"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2604821\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2604825,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2604821\/revisions\/2604825"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2604822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2604821"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2604821"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2604821"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}