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Trump Backs Navy SEAL In Bid To Knock Off GOP Rep. Thomas Massie
President Donald Trump urged Republicans on Monday to get behind a Navy SEAL who he hopes will oust Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie in the 2026 midterm elections.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that Captain Ed Gallrein has his “Complete and Total Endorsement” in a bid to replace Massie in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District. Massie has been a thorn in Trump’s side for most of his second term, criticizing the president’s handling of the Epstein files and voting against his “Big, Beautiful Bill.”
“The incredible people of Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District, who want desperately to get rid of Thomas Massie, the Worst ‘Republican’ Congressman we have had in many years, gave us a mandate to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!” Trump said. “The person that will help us do the job, and do it right, is Navy SEAL, Army Ranger, Fifth Generation Kentucky Farmer, and American Hero, Captain Ed Gallrein, a true Patriot.”
“Captain Ed Gallrein has my Complete and Total Endorsement against ‘Congressman’ Thomas Massie — He only votes AGAINST the Republican Party, making life very easy for the Radical Left,” Trump added. “Unlike ‘lightweight’ Congressman Massie, a true hater of Israel, and a totally ineffective LOSER who has failed us so badly, CAPTAIN ED GALLREIN IS A WINNER WHO WILL NOT LET KENTUCKY DOWN!”
Trump urged Republicans considering a run against Massie to stand down and “rally behind” Gallrein, arguing that Gallrein is in the best position to defeat the GOP congressman. Trump praised Gallrein for his service to the United States and said that the Navy SEAL “is a big fan of our recent attack on Nicolas Maduro, the Dictator of Venezuela.”
Massie responded to Trump’s lengthy statement on Gallrein, writing on X, “i ain’t reading all that. im happy for u tho. or sorry that happened.”
The Daily Wire reached out to Massie’s office and campaign for comment.
Trump’s relationship with Massie has been a roller-coaster ride. In March 2020, Trump called Massie a “third rate Grandstander” and urged the GOP to throw him out of the party after the Kentucky congressman tried to stall a $2.2 trillion COVID aid package. Two years later, Trump endorsed Massie in his Republican primary, referring to him as a “Conservative Warrior” and a “first-rate Defender of the Constitution.”
Massie, who espouses libertarian views, regularly criticizes Trump’s foreign and domestic policies, including his major spending plan in the “Big, Beautiful Bill.” Massie was one of just two Republicans in the House who voted against Trump’s signature piece of legislation.
Earlier this week, Massie condemned the Trump administration’s strikes in Venezuela and capture of Nicolás Maduro, arguing that the operation was only “about oil and regime change.”
“This is not what we voted for,” he said.
In a Christmas Day post calling out some of his enemies, Trump slammed Massie as “one lowlife ‘Republican'” who continues to focus on the Epstein saga, which Trump has called a “hoax.” Massie sent out a fundraising message in response to Trump’s Christmas Day criticism, writing on X, “Imagine celebrating a blessed Christmas with your family… suddenly phones alert everyone to the most powerful man in the world attacking you… for fulfilling his campaign promise to help victims!”