Rep. Thomas Massie puts his Republican 'brand' against Trump's in Kentucky

2026 ElectionRep. Thomas Massie puts his Republican 'brand' against Trump's in KentuckyMassie is touting his independence and trying to turn the president into an afterthought as he faces Trump-endorsed Ed Gallrein next month in a tough GOP primary.Listen to this article with a free account00:0000:00Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., is facing attacks from President Donald Trump as he seeks an eighth term in Congress.Tom Williams / CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images fileShareAdd NBC News to GoogleApril 15, 2026, 5:00 AM EDTBy Henry J. GomezWILLIAMSTOWN, Ky. — Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., had a friendly crowd, a keynote time slot and the praise of a local state lawmaker who introduced him as the “archetype of conservatism.”Subscribe to read this story ad-free Get unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.It wasn’t until 18 minutes into his remarks — which meandered from his days in local government to the drudgery of legislating in Washington, D.C. — that Massie nonchalantly pivoted to President Donald Trump, the man trying to end his career in Congress.“By the way,” Massie told the roughly 75 people who turned out here last week for the Grant County Republican Party’s Lincoln-Reagan Day dinner, “I vote with the GOP, regardless of what you see on TV, 91% of the time. But in the 9% of the time, if they’re covering up for pedophiles, bankrupting the country or starting another war, I don’t vote that way.”Trump is backing former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein in next month’s Republican primary in Kentucky’s 4th District — a revenge mission after Massie pushed to release the Jeffrey Epstein files and opposed the president on other key votes. “Massie is a complete and total disaster as a congressman and, frankly, as a human being,” Trump said last month at an event in the district where Gallrein joined him onstage.As he fights for his political survival, Massie hopes to make Trump more of an afterthought in places like Grant County, where the president won with mo...