{"id":2605190,"date":"2026-05-20T17:01:01","date_gmt":"2026-05-20T21:01:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-media-cant-see-the-populist-vote-clearly-to-save-their-lives\/"},"modified":"2026-05-20T17:04:27","modified_gmt":"2026-05-20T21:04:27","slug":"the-media-cant-see-the-populist-vote-clearly-to-save-their-lives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-media-cant-see-the-populist-vote-clearly-to-save-their-lives\/","title":{"rendered":"The Media Can&#8217;t See The Populist Vote Clearly To Save Their Lives"},"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\">24<\/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%2Fthe-media-cant-see-the-populist-vote-clearly-to-save-their-lives%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=2605190&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>The passage argues that explanations from mainstream outlets-that Donald Trump \u201cpunishes\u201d candidates who displease him,and that Massie\u2019s loss reflects Trump\u2019s weakness or Israel\/AIPAC dynamics-don\u2019t hold up. It claims the media depict conflicting narratives: Trump is portrayed as both all-powerful and powerless, wounded and still able to control outcomes. it then points out that Massie was a consistent critic of Israel and AIPAC even before, yet he <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/dem-cheri-bustos-diverts-post-office-aid-cash-to-own-campaign\/\" title=\"Dem Cheri Bustos Diverts Post Office Aid Cash to Own Campaign\">won reelection<\/a> repeatedly, so Israel-related accounts can\u2019t explain his defeat.<\/p>\n<p>Instead, the author suggests <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/massie-hints-at-a-run-in-2028-well-talk-about-it-later\/\" title=\"Massie hints at a run in 2028: &#039;We&#039;ll talk about it later&#039;\">massie lost<\/a> because Republican voters in his district decided he was no longer serving their interests. The text highlights Massie\u2019s later alignment with Democrats (including with rep. Ro Khanna), and his votes against major Trump-era legislation, as reasons voters may have withdrawn support.The overall takeaway is that voter sentiment and voters\u2019 independent judgment-not Trump\u2019s supposed spell or <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >external geopolitical pressure-<\/a>likely drove the result.  <\/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<div>\n<p>The New York Times <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/Y2YyO\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">warned<\/a> on May 18 that an astonishingly unpopular president was about to destroy the Republican Party: \u201cTrump\u2019s Approval Sinks Amid Unpopular War, Darkening G.O.P. Prospects.\u201d Discussing new poll results, the newspaper concluded that \u201cthe survey suggests that Republican candidates are entering their general-election races with stark political liabilities.\u201d Anyone tied to Donald Trump was <em>doomed<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>On May 19, covering the defeat of Kentucky Republican Thomas Massie in that state\u2019s primary election, The New York Times <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/live\/2026\/05\/19\/us\/midterms-georgia-kentucky#d038a925-c4b7-580b-a938-bf3495149c16\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">concluded<\/a> that the results had proved \u201cthe president\u2019s power to punish his critics.\u201d A <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/So5ij\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">second story<\/a> that same day similarly framed the Kentucky race as \u201ca referendum on Mr. Trump\u2019s influence over his party,\u201d proof of the president\u2019s power.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re keeping score at home, this means that Donald Trump is a wounded animal: crippled, broken, hated, powerless. Also, he has an iron grip on his party, which moves in unison at his merest expression of whim. He\u2019s impotent and all-powerful, wounded and helpless and the last apex predator in the woods. Any candidate tied to Trump is bound to lose, dragged down by a hated president, and also anyone he endorses wins, proving his power. Send word if it makes any sense to you, because we all have a headache.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/the-find-the-fraud-lie-proves-that-the-legacy-media-dont-care-about-the-truth\/\" title=\"The \u2018Find The Fraud... Lie Proves That The Legacy ... ...t Care About The Truth\">legacy media don\u2019<\/a>t know what it means. They don\u2019t know what\u2019s happening. They\u2019re tourists in a foreign land, trying to puzzle their way through the strange customs of the locals.<\/p>\n<p>As Federalist CEO and co-founder Sean Davis <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2026\/05\/20\/why-thomas-massie-lost\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">noted Wednesday<\/a>, Massie didn\u2019t lose his seat because Trump suddenly announced that he didn\u2019t like the man. \u201cTrump mercilessly trashed Massie in 2020,\u201d Davis writes. Then Massie won reelection several times. So if you anger Trump, you lose your seat, except for the three times after you anger Trump and he says so publicly but you keep your seat. The Trump-pushed-him explanation doesn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n<p>Neither does the one about Israel. Massie\u2019s defeat is being <a href=\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/2026\/05\/19\/thomas-massie-loses-election-results-trump-aipac-kentucky\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">widely depicted<\/a> as a win for AIPAC: oppose Zionists, kept tossed out of Congress. Massie himself is gesturing broadly at the same argument:<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Thomas Massie Ends Campaign With Explosive Tel Aviv Dig\" width=\"422\" height=\"750\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/1fEQJmK9klU?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>But Massie has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.jns.org\/u.s.-news\/rep-thomas-massie-explains-sole-republican-vote-against-house-anti-bds-resolution\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">always<\/a> been an outspoken critic of Israel, and of AIPAC, and of Zionist sentiment in American politics, as he\u2019s won reelection over and over again. <em>Nothing<\/em> changed. Massie lost an election as a critic of Israel after repeatedly winning elections as a critic of Israel.<\/p>\n<p>If you\u2019re looking for an explanation of Massie\u2019s defeat in a Republican primary election, consider the extraordinary possibility that Republican voters might have had something to do with it, having made their own evaluation about the quality of his service in public office. The change in the last two years is that Massie entered into a political partnership with Democrats, allying with the Bay Area Congressman Ro Khanna, a particularly repellent Democrat, to try to harm Trump politically. He was also one of two Republicans in the House to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.courier-journal.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2025\/07\/03\/thomas-massie-republican-no-vote-trump-big-beautiful-bill\/84462676007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">vote against<\/a> the Big Beautiful Bill, the landmark legislation of Trump\u2019s second term.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"LIVE: Reps. Khanna and Massie speak after reviewing unredacted Epstein files\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Deh5tR1fTk8?feature=oembed&#038;enablejsapi=1\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Republican voters are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2026\/05\/16\/cassidy-loses-louisiana-senate-primary-00925399\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">punishing elected officials<\/a> who don\u2019t work consistently to advance the agenda of the Republican Party and its much-ignored base, while also telling a clear story about working to advance a Republican agenda. Republican voters are \u2026 Republicans. Massie didn\u2019t lose because of Donald Trump or because of Benjamin Netanyahu.<\/p>\n<p>He was defeated because enough Republican voters in his district lost faith that he was working in their interest and in a way that consistently represented their views. The Thomas Massie who <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/116th-congress\/house-bill\/2859?s=1&#038;r=3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">wrote the PRIME Act<\/a> was appreciated and respected, and deserves to be. The Thomas Massie who had fans on MS NOW was somewhat less popular.<\/p>\n<p>The <em>voters<\/em> mattered, and not simply as the mindless instruments of Trump the Sorcerer that the media want them to be. The populist vote connects <em>to the populous<\/em> in a moment of lost political faith. Complicated, for sure, and too hard for The New York Times, but something to ponder. Voter sentiment may just play a role in elections. Spread the word.<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Chris Bray is a senior correspondent at The Federalist and a former infantry sergeant in the U.S. Army. He has a history PhD from the University of California Los Angeles, not that it did him any good. He also posts on Substack, at &#8220;Tell Me How This Ends,&#8221; <a href=\"https:\/\/chrisbray.substack.com\/\">here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NYT warned Trump\u2019s unpopularity could doom Republicans, citing polls<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2086,"featured_media":2605191,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/massie.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[80027,32490,38643,19667,34832],"class_list":["post-2605190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-democratic-processes","tag-media-bias","tag-political-communication","tag-populism","tag-public-opinion"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/massie.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2605190","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\/2086"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2605190"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2605190\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2605195,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2605190\/revisions\/2605195"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2605191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2605190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2605190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2605190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}