
As the Washington Post reports, though the country as a whole may be turning against President Donald Trump’s second term, Trump’s iron grip on the Republican Party was demonstrated once again last night with the ouster of one of his foremost critics, Rep. Tom Massie of Kentucky:
The victory for [Ed] Gallrein in Northern Kentucky’s 4th district sends another warning to Republicans already loath to challenge Trump as he and his allies flex their power in primaries…
Trump told reporters Tuesday night that Massie was a “bad guy” who deserved to lose. Some of his aides gloated. “Do not ever doubt President Trump and his political power,” White House communications director Steven Cheung wrote on X.
“This is @realdonaldtrump’s Republican Party,” wrote Rep. Randy Fine (R-Florida) on X. “The rest of us get the privilege of living in it.” [Pols emphasis]
At the top of the list of losers from yesterday’s Republican primary in Kentucky is Colorado’s Rep. Lauren Boebert, whose continued steadfast support for Massie as he dogged the Trump administration over the Epstein files resulted in Trump turning his Truth Social wrath on Boebert for the first time after their years-long history of mutual admiration.
After Massie’s defeat yesterday, Boebert is in full supplication mode:
“Trump is my President!” “Jesus is Lord!”
The difference is, Jesus forgives. Donald Trump doesn’t.
As readers know, Trump’s call for a primary challenge to Boebert was ignorant of the deadlines in Colorado, which have already passed for a Republican opponent to get on the ballot. A write-in campaign in the general election could hypothetically gain traction with Trump’s support, but the most likely effect of any such attempt would be to boost Boebert’s extremely well-funded Democratic challenger Eileen Laubacher.
But as soon-to-be ex-Sen. Bill Cassidy can tell you, in addition to not forgiving, Trump doesn’t forget. Over the weekend, Cassidy paid the price for his vote to convict Donald Trump in his second impeachment trial five years ago. Even if Boebert survives the 2026 election in the face of historic headwinds for Republicans and Trump’s disownment, she is almost certain now to face a serious GOP primary challenge in 2028.
A combination of intense intervention from House leadership and an honest assessment the prospects of a primary opponent persuaded Trump to let Rep. Jeff Hurd back into the MAGA fold, but we don’t see either of those factors operating in Boebert’s favor. All Boebert can hope is to come up with an apology that Trump will accept.
Let’s keep the speculation about that family-friendly.
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