Overview
- Trump posted on Truth Social calling Rep. Thomas Massie a "Weak and Pathetic RINO" who should be "thrown out of office" and offered his "Complete and Total Endorsement" to Ed Gallrein if he runs.
- Ed Gallrein, a retired Navy SEAL and fifth‑generation Kentucky farmer who narrowly lost a 2024 state Senate GOP primary, has not announced a congressional campaign.
- Massie dismissed Gallrein as a "failed candidate" and "establishment hack" and used the endorsement to rally donors after reporting a record $768,000 raised in Q3 and more than $2 million cash on hand.
- Trump‑aligned operatives launched a super PAC in June to defeat Massie, with about $1.8 million in independent expenditures reported so far.
- Massie has recently broken with the president on major issues and is pressing a bipartisan discharge petition to force release of DOJ Epstein files that is reportedly one signature shy of the 218 needed.