Rep. Thomas Massie's (R-KY) primary loss on Tuesday was another example of President Donald Trump's grip on the Republican Party, according to some political experts. But a new analysis suggests that Massie may get the last laugh against Trump before all is said and done.
Ben Jacobs, a political reporter for Slate, wrote in a new column that Massie appears to be growing a new "loud minority" coalition to fight against Trump. Jacobs attended Massie's watch party on Tuesday, where he noticed a peculiar energy in the air around a man who had just lost his race to the Trump-endorsed former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein.
"It may have represented the end of Massie’s stint in Congress, but it may too represent the coalescing of a new faction in Republican politics," Jacobs wrote. "Along with the usual assortment of local Kentucky supporters, the crowd at Massie’s event included an eclectic mix. There were a score of influencers who had come from across the country to support his campaign, there were libertarians stopping in Kentucky on their way to their party’s national convention in Michigan, and there were also figures like former Rep. Dana Rohrabacher and Proud Boys founder Gavin McInnes floating around."
Massie became a thorn in Trump's side during the second administration because Massie pushed for the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files. Massie coordinated efforts with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) to pass the Epstein Files Transparency Act, which required the Department of Justice to release all of the files by the end of 2025. He also publicly supported survivors of Epstein's crimes in their push for transparency.
Jacobs noted that the crowd who attended Massie's concession speech chanted “America First, America First!” and “No War, No War!” The chants reminded him of the Tea Party coalition that formed in opposition to the traditional Republican Party in 2010 and catapulted people like Sen. Ron Paul (R-KY) into office. That coalition could also send Massie back to Congress, where he could continue to lean on the Trump administration.
"Like the Ron Paul coalition it resembles (and shares a lot of crossover with), it may not be more than a loud minority within the GOP, bigger on podcasts than in legislatures," Jacobs wrote. "But it does symbolize the potential nucleus of a new point of resistance to the Trumpist establishment in the GOP, one that not so much harks back to a Reagan-esque past as looks to a future where voters can drink raw milk while being transported in their self-driving Teslas."
"At a moment when Trump has seemingly quashed all dissent within the party, successfully ousting both Massie and Cassidy in less than a week, it signifies a potential new fissure opening within the GOP," Jacobs continued. "And for those at Massie’s election night, that seemed as much worth celebrating as anything."