Far-right influencers have swarmed social media to tell us that fifth-generation farmer and decorated war fighter Ed Gallrein, who just clobbered former tech industry insider Thomas Massie in the Republican Primary for Kentucky’s 4th District, could only win because Jews bought the seat for him. We are now the “United States of Israel,” the far right declares. They also claim the election was stolen. They’re so deluded that they believe Jewish machinations defeated Massie. Since Trump endorsed Gallrein, the President is part of the conspiratorial web organized by Israel. More accurately, they depict the President as a puppet worked by the Jewish hand up his backside.
Those of us who live in the real world know that Massie lost in Kentucky because the good people of that state want a Congressman who will advance the President’s agenda, not disrupt it. Gallrein is the man to advance the Trump agenda in Congress. Gallrein campaigned as an “America First” conservative, emphasizing border security, deregulation, and tax cuts. Crucially, he does not fixate on Jeffrey Epstein, the hustler who committed suicide in federal prison in 2019. Massie is obsessed with Epstein. This endears him to the far right, who believe that the “Epstein files” contain evidence of a Jewish pedophile ring controlling the United States. But the public has seen enough to know that Trump was not involved in Epstein’s crimes. Moreover, they’re smart enough to know that, if there was anything there, it would have dominated the 2024 campaign. And they aren’t dumb or deluded enough to believe that Jews control the scene.
Massie co-led a bipartisan push with Rep. Ro Khanna to force the Department of Justice to release the files, using a discharge petition to bypass House leadership. Why Massie decided to join the Democrats in whipping up hysteria over the “Epstein files” goes to character, and this makes the man unacceptable to the America First movement. Thomas Massie has repeatedly voted against aid packages for Israel, the bulwark of Western sensibilities in the region. He was also the only House member to vote against a 2023 resolution equating denial of Israel’s right to exist with antisemitism, arguing that it blurred legitimate criticism of Israel with antisemitism. Is denying Israel’s right to exist legitimate criticism of the only Jewish state in the world? He has often opposed or been the sole Republican “no” on various pro-Israel resolutions, including BDS-related measures and other symbolic statements supporting the US-Israel alliance. The answer to the “why” question is that Massie harbors deep-seated anti-Israel sentiments, and slapping the label “libertarian” on antisemitism cannot disguise a worldview.
Massie didn’t lose a close election on May 19. The eight-term House member was blown out. It’s not as if Massie supporters didn’t see this coming. The best polling data predicted Gallrein would win by a huge margin. And so he did. In the end, he prevailed by a whopping ten points. The election wasn’t stolen; Massie was crushed. And he is not the only Republican to destroy his political career over Israel. Marjorie Taylor Greene made a similar decision to join the hysteria over the Epstein files. She gave up her seat when she realized that turning against Trump would mean that voters would be tossed from office. Massie decided to lose his seat in a humiliating defeat. In defeat, he made sure the public knew he was an antisemite by joking about having to phone Gallrein in Tel Aviv to concede the race. It will likely be the last thing we will remember about the man.
Did AIPAC and other pro-Israel PACs contribute to Gallrein’s campaign? Yes. Like many lobbies representing the interests of other nations, pro-Israel forces are involved in US politics. However, most of Gallrein’s financial support came from other sources. But what won Gallrein the opportunity to represent Kentucky in the House, aside from the voters’ frustration with Massie, was Trump’s endorsement. Trump has had a remarkably strong run in the 2026 Republican primaries so far, especially in the highest-profile contests. His endorsed candidates won several major races this week. In addition to Kentucky, Trump-backed candidates performed well in primaries in Alabama, Georgia, and Pennsylvania. The voters are sending a clear message to the Party: no more establishment Republicans.
The power of Trump’s endorsements and the America First base will likely result in the defeat of other politicians who are more interested in pursuing their historic role as controlled opposition, prioritizing the interests of their wealthy donors over the interests of the American people. Trump’s endorsement of Ken Paxton over obstructionist John Cornyn in the Texas Senate Primary race spells doom for the four-term establishment operative. Cornyn served as Mitch McConnell’s Republican Whip from 2013 to 2019. Kentucky RINO McConnell is another creature of the donor class whose only good deed was preventing Barack Obama from putting another progressive on the Supreme Court. Cornyn ran to succeed McConnell as party leader but was ultimately defeated by John Thune, yet another establishment Republican obstructing the America First agenda. There is some suggestion that JD Vance assume his constitutional power as President of the Senate and take control of the Republican agenda. Sounds like a plan. That and continuing to drive RINOs out of the party.
Feigning astonishment, the far right is asking, “Who is Ed Gallrein?” They know who he is, but they want you to pretend along with them that they don’t. They need you to believe that an agriculturalist and decorated war fighter is a Trojan Horse for Israel. If they didn’t know who he is, then they aren’t very patriotic. Before entering national politics, Gallrein dedicated his life to military service as a Navy SEAL officer. He retired from service after thirty years and returned to his family farm in Kentucky. Now he leaves his Kentucky farm to serve his country again and advance America First priorities in Congress. It’s a résumé that would excite a Founding Father. Massie fades away as a nonentity. Good riddance. We need to see the fake America Firsters out the door, as well. Anti-Jewish antipathy has no place in the Republican Party. Leave that ancient hatred and loathing to the far right, the left, and Islam—and return them to history where they belong.
freedom and reason 