CIVIL WAR IN KENTUCKY: Trump-Backed ‘Revenge Mission’ Hits Fever Pitch as Boone County GOP Deals Blow to Massie

HEBRON, KY – The battle for the soul of the Republican Party is exploding in Kentucky’s 4th District, where a high-stakes "revenge mission" by President Donald Trump has turned a local primary into a national firestorm.

In a move sending shockwaves through the district, the Boone County Republican Party voted 50-28 to uphold a neutrality rule, refusing to put its thumb on the scale for incumbent Rep. Thomas Massie as he faces the fight of his political life against Trump-endorsed former Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein.

TRUMP’S TARGET: THE ‘DISASTER’ IN D.C.

The President isn't just watching this race—he's leading the charge to end Massie's career. Trump has pulled no punches in his effort to unseat the man he once called a "disaster."

At a recent rally in the heart of the district, Trump stood shoulder-to-shoulder with Gallrein, a battle-tested warrior, and issued a blistering indictment of the incumbent.

“Massie is a complete and total disaster as a congressman and, frankly, as a human being,” Trump told a fired-up crowd.

The feud is personal. Insiders say the President is seeking payback after Massie bucked the White House on the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files and opposed the administration’s military operations in Iran.

A WAR OF WALLETS

The airwaves are being flooded as outside groups dump historic amounts of cash into the race. According to AdImpact, a staggering $12.4 million has already been spent on advertisements.

The spending gap is telling: $6.8 million has come from the Gallrein camp and outside allies like MAGA KY and the Republican Jewish Coalition Victory PAC. They are hammering Massie for his "No" votes on immigration and border security—specifically his opposition to President Trump’s "One Big Beautiful Bill"—and his stance on the war in Iran.

THE ‘NO’ MAN VS. THE ‘NAVY SEAL’

Massie, a libertarian firebrand who has built a brand on being the lone "No" vote in Washington, is betting that his constituents value independence over blind loyalty.

"I read the bills. I try to make the decision based on what is best," Massie told supporters at a GOP dinner, taking a swipe at Gallrein for skipping the event. "I’m running against a guy whose main thing is he will promise you he will go along to get along. I don’t think we need a rubber stamp."

But Gallrein’s team says the district—where Trump remains a titan—wants a teammate, not a maverick.

"Captain Gallrein is honored that President Trump has been so supportive of his campaign to defeat every liberal’s favorite Republican," said Gallrein spokesperson Alexandra Wilkes.

BY THE NUMBERS: CAN TRUMP TILT THE SCALE?

The math is daunting for Massie. In Grant County, Trump commanded a massive 80% of the vote in 2024. If those voters follow the President's lead on May 19, Massie’s 14-year run in Congress could be over.

While Massie claims his internal polling shows him ahead, political experts say this is a coin toss.

“Massie is his own dude,” said Shauna Reilly, a political science professor at Northern Kentucky University. “He’s running his own campaign, and I think like it or lump it, that’s how he’s going to approach this.”

THE BOTTOM LINE: On May 19, Kentucky voters will decide if they want a constitutional "fighter" who isn't afraid to say "No" to his own party, or a Navy SEAL who promises to be the "backup" President Trump says he needs in Washington.

Acting AG Blanche Fires Back at Obama’s DOJ Criticism

Posted July 21, 2026

Former President Barack Obama sharply criticized the Trump administration this week over what he described as growing political influence inside the United States Department of Justice, prompting an aggressive response from Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche defending both the administration’s prosecutions and President Donald Trump’s authority over the executive branch.

The escalating public dispute comes as the Justice Department faces mounting scrutiny over a series of criminal investigations and indictments involving several longtime Trump critics and political adversaries, including former FBI Director James Comey.

Obama raised the issue during an interview with Stephen Colbert on CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert that aired Monday night.

“The White House shouldn’t be able to direct the attorney general to go around prosecuting whoever,” Obama said during the interview. “The idea is that the attorney general is the people’s lawyer. It’s not the president’s consigliere.”

Obama suggested the principle of DOJ independence may ultimately need to be codified into law by Congress, arguing that the justice system risks becoming politicized if presidents are perceived as directly targeting political opponents through federal prosecutions.

The comments immediately triggered pushback from the Trump administration.

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson accused Obama of hypocrisy, arguing that his administration played a central role in the origins of the Trump-Russia investigation.

“Barack Hussein Obama is the king of weaponization,” Jackson said in a statement, referencing declassified documents related to the FBI’s Russia probe.

But the administration’s most extensive response came Wednesday from Blanche during an interview with CBS News in Phoenix.

Blanche forcefully rejected accusations that the DOJ is engaged in political retaliation and defended the president’s constitutional authority over the executive branch.

“Article Two says, ‘the executive power shall be vested in the President of the United States of America,’” Blanche said while holding a pocket copy of the Constitution during the interview. “It does not say that the Attorney General stands off to the side.”

Blanche emphasized that the attorney general serves within the executive branch and argued that presidents are fully entitled to direct priorities involving law enforcement, immigration, drugs, and national security.

“To the extent that President Trump calls me and says that he thinks we have a problem in this country, whether it’s the scourge of drugs, illegal immigration, every American wants him to do that,” Blanche said. “And he should.”

The acting attorney general also dismissed accusations that the DOJ is pursuing politically motivated cases against Trump critics.

“We are absolutely doing nothing but what we should be doing at the Department of Justice,” Blanche said. “I wake up with a very clean conscience every morning.”

The public clash comes amid multiple high-profile investigations involving Trump adversaries.

Most notably, Comey was recently indicted after prosecutors alleged a 2025 Instagram post featuring seashells arranged to form the numbers “86 47” constituted a threat against Trump, the 47th president. Prosecutors argue “86” is commonly understood slang meaning “to eliminate” or “get rid of.”

Blanche defended the case, arguing threats against the president must be treated seriously given recent assassination attempts and escalating political extremism.

Last year, Trump publicly urged then-Attorney General Pam Bondi to pursue prosecutions against Comey, James, and Sen. Adam Schiff, writing on social media that “JUSTICE MUST BE SERVED.”

Blanche declined to discuss private conversations with Trump when asked whether the president personally directed prosecutions.

“But rest assured,” Blanche said, “he has much better, bigger and important things to do than to worry about me doing my job.”

Blanche also turned Democrats’ criticism back against them by pointing to the multiple criminal prosecutions Trump himself faced before returning to office, including cases brought by state prosecutors in New York and Georgia as well as federal investigations overseen by Special Counsel Jack Smith.

“So I welcome criticism. Let’s go,” Blanche said. “But if you’re sitting in a glass house, you ought not throw stones.”