Trump takes campaign swing at his GOP archenemy: ‘Got to get rid of this loser’

President Trump dropped into Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie’s backyard Wednesday to rally support for his primary opponent, deriding the libertarian-leaning Republican as a “total disaster” and the “worst person.”

Mr. Trump has zeroed in on Mr. Massie as his top primary target this year, accusing him of siding with Democrats on key votes — such as tax cuts, border security funding and tightening welfare rules.

Mr. Trump and his allies, including deep-pocketed pro-Israel donors, are pouring millions into sinking him in the primary and boosting his challenger, former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein.

“We have got to get rid of this loser. This guy is bad,” Mr. Trump said at the Verst Logistics facility in Hebron, Kentucky — right in the heart of Mr. Massie’s 4th Congressional District. “He’s 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.”

Shifting gears, he praised Mr. Gallrein, calling him a “true American hero” and a “great patriot” and describing him as straight out of “central casting.”

Mr. Gallrein returned the compliment during a brief appearance on stage, saying, “I will stand with you and the party to put America first and Kentucky always.”

“Tom Massie stands with the ladies of ‘The View,’” he said, alluding to the hosts of the ABC talk show. “Mr. President, we stand with you.”

Before the event, Mr. Massie told The Washington Times that Mr. Trump was coming to the state to “resuscitate” Mr. Gallrein’s flailing campaign.

Mr. Massie spent the day a few hours away giving a civics lesson at local schools. He said the timing of Mr. Trump’s trip gave him more material to work with. Specifically: James Madison’s idea of separation of powers — that concentrating power in one branch of government is “the very definition of tyranny.”

“I think I’ll spend a little more time explaining that congressmen don’t work for the president,” Mr. Massie said with a laugh. “I will just take the opportunity also maybe to explain that the Constitution requires Congress to authorize war — that the executive branch can’t do that.”

Mr. Massie says he landed in Mr. Trump’s crosshairs because he has pushed back on spending — including taxpayer money sent overseas to Israel and other countries — and his questions about whether the president exceeded his constitutional authority in military actions in Iran and Venezuela.

With Republicans holding only a razor-thin majority in the House, that friction has left the White House with little room to maneuver.

Mr. Massie has also pushed for the release of government files related to Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender who died in 2019 while awaiting trial on federal sex-trafficking charges.

He frames his independence as sticking to his libertarian principles — and, in some cases, being more aligned with parts of the MAGA agenda than the president himself.

“Here are the MAGA promises that I have not flinched from: No. 1, release the Epstein files. No. 2, no more regime change wars. No. 3, drain the swamp,” Mr. Massie said. “I’m the one following through.”

Mr. Trump sees it differently.

“He’s disrespecting our country,” he said. “He votes against everything.”

Mr. Trump also pushed back on Mr. Massie’s attempts to cast Mr. Gallrein as disloyal to the president and the GOP.

Mr. Massie is pointing to voter registration records showing Mr. Gallrein left the Republican Party to register as an independent after Mr. Trump clinched the nomination in 2016, and did not switch back to the Republican Party until 2021.

“Ed became an independent a few years ago because he was so angry at the way the Republican Party was operating — and I don’t disagree with him,” Mr. Trump said. “But then he came back, and he came back strong, because I got involved.”

“He said, ’I came back because of the strength and wisdom that Donald Trump displayed’ — and I appreciate that,” Mr. Trump said.