Outgoing Kentucky congressman Thomas Massie said some members of his own party are suffering from “Trump disappointment syndrome.”
Thomas Massey loses to Ed Gullane in Kentucky Republican primary
Congressman Thomas Massey lost the Republican primary for Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District to pro-Trump challenger Ed Gullane.
Outgoing U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie lashed out at his fellow Republicans and President Donald Trump on the May 24 edition of “Meet the Press,” less than a week after losing his Kentucky primary to a pro-Trump primary challenger.
The maverick Massie served seven terms in the House before losing the May 19 election to former Navy SEAL Ed Garline.
The incumbent told NBC host Kristen Welker that he believes he was removed from his seat because he supported the government’s release of the Epstein files, including the Epstein Transparency Act, which aims to reveal federal documents about convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The Kentucky lawmaker co-authored the bill with California Representative Ro Khanna, a Democrat.
“I think the greatest crime committed against the swamp, Kristen, was to show the American people that someone on the right can join someone on the left and get things done, and that was releasing the Epstein files,” Massey said.
Americans on both sides of the aisle are calling on the government to share more information about the disgraced investors. The president signed a bill last year mandating the release of the documents, but some critics say more documents should be made available to the public.
Trump and Epstein were public friends decades ago, but had a falling out in the early 2000s. Trump has long denied wrongdoing and has never been charged with a crime related to Epstein.
Massie’s loss comes a week after fellow Republican and Louisiana Sen. Bill Cassidy also lost his re-election bid after President Trump urged voters to unseat Massie.
Massie’s House colleague, Rep. Julia Letlow, received the most votes and will face a runoff against state Treasurer John Fleming. Both campaigns were seen as aimed at checking Trump’s influence among Republican primary voters as his approval rating among the general public declines.
But Massey didn’t just criticize the Trump administration over the Epstein file. He also pointed out that Trump’s signature One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which only two Republicans opposed, pushed up the budget deficit by about $3.8 trillion.
“Absolutely worth it”
Massey said in an interview on “Meet the Press” that he believes it is “absolutely worth it for me” to challenge Trump and other Republicans even after losing the House district.
“Some people on the left have Trump Derangement Syndrome. They call it TDS,” Massey said, referring to frequent insults about Trump. “But more and more people on the right are suffering from a type of TDS called Trump Disappointment Syndrome.”
Massey argued that the party is alienating several factions of the Republican Party that contributed to Trump’s reelection in November 2024, including fiscal hawks, supporters of “Make America Healthy Again” and those opposed to U.S. involvement in foreign wars and conflicts.
During an appearance on a news show, Massie appeared to vow to continue opposing Trump for the rest of his term. “I have seven more months to campaign against it, and that means voting for principles and people over political parties,” Massey said.
And when asked by Welker if he thought the party was starting to break with Trump, he called Trump’s banquet halls “an outrageous waste of money.”
Last week, many Senate Republicans appeared concerned about the proposed $1 billion in White House security funding tied to President Trump’s banquet project, which has drawn a backlash from the left. President Trump has long said that the White House ballroom itself would be funded by private donors, not taxpayer dollars.
