Tucker Carlson Says Massie Defeat Is ‘Death of MAGA’ and ‘End of the Republican Party’

Tucker Carlson commented that Rep. Thomas Massie’s loss in the Republican primary in Kentucky signaled “the death of MAGA” and “the end of the Republican Party” after President Donald Trump helped remove one of his strongest GOP critics.

Carlson made these statements during his show after Massie lost Tuesday’s primary in Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District to Ed Gallrein, a farmer and former Navy SEAL endorsed by Trump.

The Associated Press reported that Gallrein won the Republican nomination after Trump chose him to challenge Massie, who had gone against the president multiple times.

“This is the saddest moment in a long time,” Carlson said, according to The Hill. “It’s not just the end of Thomas Massie’s immediate political career, which may be revived; one never knows. It’s clearly the end of MAGA, whatever that was. But it’s also the end of the Republican Party as we knew it.”

Carlson, a former Fox News host who has sharply disagreed with Trump on foreign policy and other matters, praised Massie as one of the few Republican lawmakers who still represented the “America First” movement in his view.

“The Republican Party today looks nothing like the Republican Party we thought we elected just a year and a half ago,” Carlson said. “Not at all.”

Massie, who was first elected to Congress in 2012, built a reputation as a libertarian-leaning Republican willing to stand up to party leaders.

He became one of the most visible Republican critics of Trump during the president’s second term, especially regarding foreign policy, government spending, and the push to release files related to Jeffrey Epstein.

Trump targeted Massie for months leading up to the primary, calling him a “moron,” a “nut job,” and a “major sleazebag,” according to The Guardian. The president also sent key political advisers Chris LaCivita and Tony Fabrizio to support a pro-Gallrein campaign.

Gallrein’s win represented another victory for Trump in his plan to punish Republicans who oppose him. AP described the race as another test of Trump’s influence over his party, after he personally selected Gallrein to face Massie.

The Kentucky primary attracted national attention due to outside spending and the issues separating Massie from Trump-aligned Republicans. Massie had criticized U.S. involvement in the Iran war, opposed aid to Israel, and collaborated with Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna from California to compel the release of Epstein-related files.

In his concession speech on Tuesday night, Massie took a parting jab at those who helped defeat him.

“I would have come out sooner, but I had to call my opponent to concede, and it took a while to find him in Tel Aviv,” Massie said, according to The Guardian.

Carlson claimed that Massie’s defeat showed that the Republican Party had strayed from the anti-interventionist and anti-establishment message that characterized Trump’s rise.

“This is a victory, but it’s likely a Pyrrhic victory, because we now know, confirmed, how the system actually works,” Carlson said.

The result came during the biggest primary night of the year so far. Voters also selected nominees in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Alabama, Oregon, and Idaho. Trump-backed candidates performed well in several contests, including Kentucky, where Rep. Andy Barr won the Republican Senate primary to succeed Mitch McConnell.

Massie’s loss left Carlson asserting that Trump’s movement had lost the essence that initially attracted many conservatives to it. Trump and his allies viewed the result differently, presenting it as another indication that opposing the president still carries a high political cost in Republican primaries.