Rep. Thomas Massie confronts the full force of Trump’s wrath in a Republican primary

Rep. Thomas Massie, a constant thorn in the side of GOP leaders during his eight terms in Congress, is no stranger to a primary challenge. But this year, President Donald Trump’s fury with the Kentucky libertarian has reached a boiling point.

HEBRON, Ky. — Rep. Thomas Massie, a constant thorn in the side of GOP leaders during his eight terms in Congress, is no stranger to a primary challenge. But this year, President Donald Trump’s fury with the Kentucky libertarian has reached a boiling point.

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On Tuesday, voters in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District will decide whether Massie becomes the latest casualty of Trump’s campaign to unseat foes inside the Republican Party as he faces off against Ed Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL and fifth-generation farmer who was personally recruited by the president.

“People aren’t going to be voting for me or voting for him on election day,” Massie told NBC News in an interview in his Capitol Hill office. “They’re either going to be voting for me or voting against me.”