Hegseth rallies for Trump-backed Navy SEAL vet to challenge Massie in Kentucky

HEBRON, KY – Ed Gallrein, a Republican congressman backed by President Donald Trump who is challenging Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky for the GOP nomination, got an extra shot on the eve of running for the state’s primary.

Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL and Kentucky farmer, was joined on the campaign trail Monday by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

Massie has long been one of Trump’s most outspoken GOP critics in Congress and the Republican base in Kentucky’s 4th district, in the north-central part of the state, is the latest test of Trump’s strong hold on the GOP.

“President Trump needs to be strengthened, and that’s what anti-war activists do. They stand behind leaders and turn their backs,” Hegseth said at an event organized by America First Works, a pro-Trump nonprofit group.

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Massie, a liberal lawyer who has repeatedly sided with the president on foreign policy, including the Iran war and unconditional US military aid to Israel, also successfully pushed for the release of government files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

But Hegseth argued that Massie’s record is one of “too many votes, too few votes, years of pretending to be tough is the same thing as courage. It’s not. Real courage means stepping up when the goal is most important, when we need that tough vote to overwhelmingly defeat left-wing Democrats.”

“President Trump doesn’t need many people in Washington trying to make a point, especially in his party. He needs people who are willing to help him win, vote with him when it matters most,” said Hegseth.

Hegseth’s remarks, which came shortly after he stopped at nearby Fort Campbell to award service members with medals, were unusual for the nation’s military chief. Defense secretaries have traditionally avoided appearing at political events.

Before the stop, Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said Hegseth would only appear “on his own terms” and that “no taxpayer dollars will be used to support his visit.”

Hegseth noted the unusual appearance.

“I have to say up front, to the lawyers, that I am here personally as a private citizen, fellow American and a military veteran.”

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But Massie, whose battle with Gallrein has turned into the most expensive congressional battle in history, told Fox News Digital on Monday that Hegseth’s stance “shows that I’m up for election. They wouldn’t have sent the Secretary of War to my congressional district if I wasn’t.”

“I think it also shows that I’m stronger than Iran, and I don’t even have a nuclear weapon. I mean, they’re all in this race. It’s basically a national race at this point, the most expensive race in congressional history, and it’s because, you know, I’m up there, doing things. I got the Epstein bill repealed, and I get the Epstein bill repealed, and I get the farm bill repealed, and I get the farm bill, I want to shut my mouth,” insisted Massie.

Gallrein, speaking to Fox News Digital before his event with Hegseth, accused Massie of “opposing President Trump, and the agenda put forward by the Republican Party.”

The Kentucky convention was held two weeks after the first convention in Indiana, where Trump’s opponents expelled five Republican state legislators who joined last December and joined with Democrats to defeat the president’s push to redistrict Congress in the GOP-controlled Midwestern region.

And the battle at the ballot box in Kentucky comes three days after Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana was ousted from office in his bid for reelection. The senator came in third in the primary, behind Trump-backed Rep. Julia Letlow and incumbent Louisiana Treasurer John Fleming.

Cassidy’s political defeat comes five and a half years after she voted to impeach Trump after he was impeached by the House for his role in the violent Jan. 6 in the US Capitol by supporters who intended to raise congressional certificates of victory for former President Joe Biden in the 2020 election. Trump was acquitted by the Senate.

Massie said he “can” defeat Trump’s endorsement of Gallrein. “I have a base here, like my events. I get 100-200 sometimes 300 people. My opponent had to cancel events because he couldn’t get enough people, you know, to fill Dairy Queen, Dairy Queen.”

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Republican Representative Thomas Massie of Kentucky campaigns on the eve of his primary, in Mason County, Kentucky on May 18, 2026. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

The race has become the most expensive in House history in terms of ad spending, with more than $32 million spent, according to nationally known ad tracking firm AdImpact.

Most of that money was raised by Trump supporters and pro-Israel groups.

“Here’s the thing, I have nothing against Israel. I’ve never voted for foreign aid. When I said America First, I meant it. I don’t vote for foreign aid to Egypt, Syria, Ukraine. I have an impeccable record on this, and I’m not going to waste it by sending foreign aid to one country,” said Massience while defending Israel.

And Massie pointed out that while Trump supporters and pro-Israel groups have spent tens of millions to get him out, he said, “I’ve got tens of thousands of grassroots donors who are funding me $50 at a time, $20 at a time.

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US Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) leaves to speak to the media after the House voted 427-1 to approve the Epstein Files Transparency Act and the release of documents and files at the US Capitol on November 18, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Roberto Schmidt/Getty Images)

Trump has repeatedly referred to Massie on social media in the closing days of the primary campaign.

The president said in a video posted on Truth Social on Monday that he hopes Kentucky voters will put Massie “out of business” and that “we are fighting the worst congress in the history of our country.”

And Trump praised Gallrein as a “great guy” and a “great patriot.”

But Massie said Trump’s taunts on social media could backfire.

“It shows that he is losing sleep, his reputation is at stake. He really shouldn’t have entered this race, because I vote with him 90% of the time,” said the congressman.