Last night, Donald Trump notched the latest victory in his cross-country revenge campaign against political apostates. Ed Gallrein, a Navy SEAL backed by the president, soundly defeated the seven-term representative Thomas Massie in Kentucky’s Fourth Congressional District. The 10-point drubbing followed the triumphs of other Trump-tapped challengers in primaries in Louisiana and Indiana, which effectively ended the careers of local legislators and a sitting U.S. senator who had angered the president.“This is basic political management of a party,” a senior White House adviser said yesterday, before the Kentucky contest. “You have to keep everybody on the reservation. Occasionally you have to shoot a hostage. The next one is Thomas Massie.” Less than two hours after polls closed, Gallrein was projected as the winner.Gallrein has an illustrious military résumé, but he has never held elected office and barely campaigned for this one, skipping every debate with Massie. What Gallrein did have was Trump’s endorsement, and that was all that mattered.This decisive outcome underscores what should already have been obvious: Even as Trump’s overall approval rating hits new lows, his hold on the Republican Party—and specifically its MAGA core—remains absolute. Contrary to months of breathless headlines, the president’s base never deserted him and continues to punish those who defy him. That’s because the MAGA movement is united, not by any particular set of ideological commitments but by commitment to a particular person.[Russell Berman: Why Thomas Massie thought he was different]Gallrein’s final online ad was just 15 seconds long, and he never said a word in it. “This is a real hero,” intoned a Trump voice-over. “Ed Gallrein has my complete and total endorsement.” In a video filmed in the Oval Office and posted on the eve of the election, Trump was more explicit about what was really at stake in this clash. “Ed Gallrein, he’s fantastic,” the president declared. “But forget that. Massie is the worst congressman in the history of our country, always voting against Republicans and good values. So get rid of Thomas Massie.” The next day, Republican voters obliged, and the Kentucky representative joined the ranks of Senator Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia as recent casualties of Trump’s perpetual purge of the insufficiently subservient.That list of victims is long and dates back to Trump’s first term. It includes nearly all GOP members of Congress who voted to impeach the president, as well as… [TheTopNews] Read More.
2 weeks ago
