Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie Faces Trump-Backed Challenger in GOP Primary After Criticizing Iran War and Epstein Files

Army Sergeant Benjamin N. Pennington, 26, of Kentucky, became the seventh American killed in President Donald Trump’s ill-defined war on Iran. He died a week after being injured during Iran’s March 1 missile attack on a U.S. air base in Saudi Arabia.

When Pennington’s body arrived at Dover Air Force Base, Trump was not present. Two days later, the president traveled to Kentucky for a rally—but made no mention of the fallen soldier. Instead, Trump used the event to attack a fellow Republican: Rep. Thomas Massie, one of his fiercest critics.

“Millions of Kentucky families will have more money in their pockets thanks to what we did with respect to tax cuts,”

Trump claimed. “But every single Democrat in Congress voted against it… They want tax increases along with just one Republican. He is the worst person… His name is Thomas Massie.”

Trump went further, calling Massie “disloyal to the Republican Party. He’s disloyal to the people of Kentucky, and most importantly, he is disloyal to the United States of America. And he’s got to be voted out of office as soon as possible.”

The president then urged voters to support his preferred candidate, former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein, who took the stage to shake Trump’s hand and lead chants of “USA! USA!”

Why Trump Targets Massie: A History of Defiance

So what had the seven-term congressman done to earn Trump’s wrath? First, Massie worked with Democrats to push the Justice Department to release the Epstein files—documents that exposed Jeffrey Epstein’s ties to some of the world’s wealthiest figures, including Trump himself.

But that’s only part of the story. Over the past year, the MIT-educated engineer has been the lone Republican in Congress willing to challenge Trump’s most controversial policies. Now, he’s locked in a high-stakes, expensive primary framed as a referendum on Trump’s waning influence.

The Kentucky GOP’s Civil War

The May 19 primary isn’t just about Trump—it’s also about the future of Kentucky’s Republican Party. For decades, state politics were dominated by Sen. Mitch McConnell, a traditional conservative who served as Senate majority leader for over 15 years.

Massie has spent years trying to dismantle McConnell’s political machine, replacing it with his own libertarian allies. The effort has alienated powerful figures, toppled entrenched legislators, and left opponents furious—but it has also won him unexpected support from across the aisle.

“He’s at the front lines of trying to define what kind of party it’s going to be,”

said Stephen Voss, a political science professor at the University of Kentucky.

Now, with Trump’s direct intervention in the race, the battle over Kentucky’s GOP future has taken on new urgency.

“If Massie does pull this off,”

said Trey Grayson, a former Kentucky secretary of state, “I think we’re going to see a lot more Republicans standing up to Donald Trump.”