A political analyst heard alarm bells on Wednesday after Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) was defeated by a Trump-endorsed candidate during his primary election.
Massie lost the election to former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein, who took home more than 57,000 votes, or 55% of the total. While some analysts have described Gallrein's victory as a show of President Donald Trump's grip on the Republican Party, Jonathan V. Last at The Bulwark argued during a new episode of the "Bulwark Takes" podcast that the election results are full of bad news for Trump.
Last pointed to two factors that he said should concern the Trump camp. First, Massie did well among voters under 40 at a time when the president is trying to win back the young male demographic he courted during his 2024 campaign.
"Problem is, there aren't that many voters under 40, which is why Massie lost by 10," Last quipped.
Second, Massie's supporters seemed aligned with some of the largest MAGA-world media figures, such as Tucker Carlson and Candace Owens. Those two figures have sharply criticized Trump's war in Iran and the administration's handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files.
"Yikes!" Last said. "Trump's populist instincts here just seem to be wrong. I can't understand why he's lagging this."
Massie is the latest Republican that Trump has helped defeat. The president also endorsed a candidate running against Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-LA), who previously voted to convict Trump during his second impeachment in 2021.