Massie says – Rep. Thomas Massie told “Meet the Press” that losing his GOP primary to a Donald Trump-backed challenger was “absolutely worth it,” even as he warned his party could pay for it in November. Massie pointed to his past fights over releasing the Epstein files, op
When Rep. Thomas Massie walked into his interview on “Meet the Press” on Sunday, the question wasn’t whether he lost his GOP primary—it was whether it cost him something he couldn’t afford.
Massie. a seven-term congressman from Kentucky. told host Kristen Welker that it was “absolutely worth it for me” to break with Donald Trump on several issues. even after his defeat. Welker pressed the point by listing the conflicts Massie has publicly made with the president—his push to release the Epstein files. his opposition to Trump’s so-called Big Beautiful Bill. and his opposition to what he has called the unpopular Iran war.
Massie said, “Now, I don’t think it’s going to be worth it for the party,” adding that he still has seven more months to keep going “against the grain” and vote for “principles” and people over party.
His loss came after he was defeated by Ed Gallrein, a retired Navy SEAL, in a Republican primary that became the most expensive House primary in American history. Gallrein’s win ended Massie’s bid to remain in office and left him with a blunt message about what happens next for Republicans.
He tweaked a phrase commonly used to describe Trump critics—“Trump Derangement Syndrome. ” or “TDS”—and warned that disappointment is spreading among Trump-aligned voters. “There’s a growing number of people on the right who have a form of ‘TDS’ called ‘Trump Disappointment Syndrome. ’” Massie said. He repeated phrasing used by ex-Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) when she reimagined the so-called syndrome earlier this month.
Massie then connected the defeat and the broader mood he believes is forming to what could happen at the ballot box. “And I think what’s going to happen to the party this fall is they’ve disenfranchised a large portion of that constituency that Trump assembled to get us in the White House. in the Senate majority and in the House majority. ” he said.
To Massie, the damage is not abstract. He accused Trump and his administration of alienating the Republican base on multiple fronts—by “kowtowing to the pesticide manufacturers and the pharmaceutical manufacturers. ” by running “DOGE” out of town as a way of dismissing “fiscal hawks. ” and by stirring opposition from people who “don’t want to fight a war ‘for other countries.’”.
“So I’m worried that in November this is going to cost the party a lot. But for me, it was completely worth it,” Massie said.
There was another thread tying his argument to his own past actions—one he framed as his most consequential break with the “swamp” in Washington. Moments earlier, Massie told Welker that the “biggest crime” he committed against the “swamp” was spearheading an effort with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.) to force the Justice Department to release its files on late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Massie said that the decision to work with Democrats was meant to show the public that even someone on the right could “join somebody on the left and get something done.” He pointed specifically to “releasing the Epstein files that everybody knew needed to be done.”
Thomas Massie Ed Gallrein Meet the Press Kristen Welker GOP primary Trump Disappointment Syndrome Trump Derangement Syndrome Epstein files Ro Khanna Big Beautiful Bill Iran war DOGE fiscal hawks