Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) is in the fight of his political life, but President Donald Trump’s Iran war might have given the libertarian gadfly the issue he most wants to contest in a primary election.
Trump would not deliberately help Massie after his remarkably personal attacks against the congressman and even his new wife last month. But Operation Epic Fury has provided Massie, a longtime critic of interventionist foreign policy, with the opportunity to portray himself as an independent representative for Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District in Washington, D.C.
“What I tell constituents is: whether you support the war or not, our troops deserve a congressional debate about objectives of the war, so that when they achieve the mission they can come home instead of being enlisted into a forever war with moving goalposts and unrealistic terms of engagement,” Massie told the Washington Examiner on Tuesday.
Massie and Trump’s relationship has deteriorated since the start of the president’s second term. The nine-term congressman and former engineer has criticized Trump for his penchant for federal spending, particularly through the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, before pivoting to his perceived lack of transparency regarding the Jeffrey Epstein files. Now, Massie has set his sights on the U.S.-Israel military offensive against Iran.
Yet, it’s not going unchallenged. Massie and his Trump-recruited Republican primary opponent Ed Gallrein are both using the Iran war as a talking point in their campaigns ahead of the May 19 GOP primary.
For example, Massie introduced a war powers resolution in the House last week and told his supporters, “If I weren’t in Washington, it’s possible Congress would escape its constitutional duties.”
“I’m not the only Republican who campaigned on putting America First, I’m just the one who’s keeping his word,” he later wrote on X.
Massie’s resolution was voted down, 212-219, as was a Senate counterpart introduced by Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA), 47-53. A second Senate war powers resolution is in the works, according to Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ).
Gallrein, a farmer and former Navy SEAL captain whom Trump asked to primary Massie, has taken to his own social media accounts to boost the war. Describing himself as “a career professional military officer,” Gallrein has said the “decisive action, clear objectives, and overwhelming strength save American lives and prevent larger wars, death, and destruction.
“Our district deserves a congressman who stands with the voters who overwhelmingly support President Trump and the Republican Party,” Gallrein said in a statement to the Washington Examiner. “Thomas Massie, by contrast, is leading the Democrats in limiting the president’s authority as the commander in chief to keep our nation and the world safe to set the conditions of peace and prosperity – just as President [Ronald] Reagan did.”
It remains to be seen whether making the Iran war a wedge issue in his primary election will help or hinder Massie. Multiple recent polls indicate, while public opinion regarding the mission is split, Republicans, including those who consider themselves MAGA Republicans, approve of the U.S.’s intervention.
One published this week from the right-leaning Vandenberg Coalition and TargetPoint found that more than 9 in 10 self-described “MAGA or Trump conservatives” approved of the war.
NBC News also published a poll days earlier in which 90% of self-identified “MAGA-aligned Republicans” approved of the strikes, with only 5% saying they did not.
For Shane Noem, chairman of the Kenton County Republican Party, the race is “becoming a pick-a-side moment between Trump and Massie.”
“It’s a long time ’til May 19, pull up a chair, and grab some popcorn,” Noem told the Washington Examiner. Kenton County is the largest by population in Massie’s seat.
The choice between Trump and Massie will be underscored on Wednesday when the president travels to the congressman’s district to give a speech on the economy at Verst Logistics in Hebron, Kentucky.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, who cannot publicly comment on elections as a federal government employee because of the Hatch Act, sidestepped questions on Tuesday regarding why Trump is traveling to Massie’s district.
“Why Ohio and why Northern Kentucky?” a reporter asked during Leavitt’s press briefing.
“Well, why not? These are two great states with great Americans,” the press secretary replied. “The president will be joined by lawmakers from both states who he greatly admires, and respects, and supports, and he’ll be meeting with business owners in both of these places and talking about the economy, which is, of course, of the utmost importance to him.”
Regardless of Leavitt’s deftness, Gallrein has been less obtuse, telling supporters Trump is traveling to Kentucky because the president knows he “will fight for secure borders, American jobs, and the America First agenda in Congress.”
“This rally will be a huge moment for our campaign and for the people of Northern Kentucky,” he wrote on X.
Massie will not be in attendance, the Washington Examiner confirmed.
Despite Trump’s persuasiveness among Republicans, he does have a mixed record with his endorsements.
“Trump has his share of primary takedowns, but he’s also been bested by officials who used their independence as an asset,” University of Cincinnati political science professor David Niven told the Washington Examiner. “Gov. Brian Kemp in Georgia was a top Trump target, but he’s still governor because he wasn’t afraid to stand up for himself.”
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Although public polling regarding the Massie-Gallrein primary election is sparse, Niven argued, “Massie is 98% MAGA compatible, but that 2% includes big, prominent things like the Epstein files and war powers.”
“But fundamentally, Massie makes his own decisions rather than taking orders — and breaks with Trump in areas where Trump has followed a massively unpopular path,” he said. “Massie will certainly lose the vote among the ‘Trump is always right’ wing of the party, but most Republican voters, especially in 2026, aren’t inclined to believe that.”