Trump once called for Rep. Thomas Massie to be tossed from GOP. Today he endorsed him.
Former President Donald Trump endorsed Rep. Thomas Massie’s re-election campaign on Tuesday, two years after he called for the Kentucky congressman to be tossed out of the Republican Party.
“Congressman Thomas Massie is a conservative warrior for Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District!,” Trump said in a statement. “An MIT graduate and a first-rate defender of the Constitution, Thomas fights hard to protect your liberties, especially the First and Second Amendments, which are under siege by the Radical Left. Strong on the border and our military and vets, Thomas Massie has my complete and total endorsement!”
Massie and Trump spoke on the phone Monday, according to Massie’s campaign.
Massie is facing a primary challenge from Claire Wirth, a 33-year-old commercial real estate investor from Prospect, who personally pursued Trump for his endorsement.
“Kentucky voters know who the real Trump candidate is in this election,” Wirth said, likening Trump’s endorsement of Massie to his preferred Senate candidates in Pennsylvania and Ohio. “You can liken the Massie endorsement to that of Dr. Oz or J.D. Vance.”
But Massie, who is seeking a sixth term, has long held a significant polling advantage over Wirth.
Another challenger, Alyssa Dara McDowell, indicated on Facebook she would be dropping out of the race due to Trump’s decision.
Kentucky’s primary is May 17 and the Republican victor is overwhelmingly favored in the general election.
In 2020, Massie locked horns with Trump over his coronavirus relief package and the congressman’s demand that House members return to Washington to debate the emergency funding at the start of the pandemic. At the time, the former president blasted Massie as a “third rate grandstander.”
Massie’s constituents didn’t seem to mind. He went on to quash his 2020 primary opponent by 62 points.
Trump, mindful of how closely his midterm endorsement record is being tracked by the media, decided to back an overwhelming front-runner who already boasts the support of other national conservative figures like Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.
If, as expected, Massie wins his primary in two weeks, he will likely face Democrat Matt Lehman, a healthcare consultant who was formerly the CEO of a cell and gene therapy company.
Other Trump endorsements in Ky.
U.S. Reps. Hal Rogers of Somerset, who represents the 5th District in Southern and Eastern Kentucky, and Brett Guthrie of Bowling Green, who has the 2nd District, announced that Trump endorsed them as well.
”A brave Army National Guard veteran, Hal is working hard to Support our Military and Vets, Grow our Economy, Defend the Second Amendment, and Stop the Trafficking of Deadly Opioids into our Communities,” Trump said of Rogers, according to his release.
Rogers was the only member of Kentucky’s Congressional delegation who objected to counting some Electoral College votes. He was one of 121 Republican House members who objected to counting Arizona and one of 138 who objected to counting Pennsylvania’s electoral votes. Both objections were defeated.
Rogers, who has served longer than any member of Congress from Kentucky, is seeking a 22nd term.
Trump called Guthrie a “Conservative Warrior who Strongly Supports our Military and Vets, Defends the Second Amendment, and Fiercely Advocates for Border Security,” according to the release from Guthrie’s office.
This story was originally published May 10, 2022 at 2:40 PM with the headline "Trump once called for Rep. Thomas Massie to be tossed from GOP. Today he endorsed him.."