Trump's revenge tour ousts Massie in Kentucky. Is Texas next?
The NPR Politics Podcast
NPR
4.4 • 25.7K Ratings
🗓️ 20 May 2026
⏱️ 19 minutes
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Summary
This episode: senior political correspondent Tamara Keith, political reporter Stephen Fowler, and senior political editor and correspondent Domenico Montanaro.
This podcast was produced by Casey Morell and Bria Suggs, and edited by Rachel Baye.
Our executive producer is Muthoni Muturi.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hey there, it's Tam. And if the NPR Politics Podcast is part of your daily ritual, you can make it official on the NPR app. You will hear about every episode the moment it's ready. Just turn on notifications and we will handle the rest. To get there, download the NPR app today. Okay, here's the show. |
| 0:24.4 | Hey. there, download the NPR app today. Okay, here's the show. Hey there, it's the NPR Politics Podcast. I'm Tamara Keith. I cover politics. I'm Stephen Fowler. |
| 0:30.0 | I also cover politics. And I'm Domenico Montanaro, senior political editor and correspondent. |
| 0:34.2 | And today on the show, President Trump's retribution campaign |
| 0:37.9 | notches another win. Republican Congressman Thomas Massey of Kentucky was defeated by a Trump-back |
| 0:44.5 | challenger. And in Texas, the president finally endorsed a Republican Senate candidate, |
| 0:50.0 | and it's not the incumbent. So, Stephen, let's start with that election and Congressman Massey's |
| 0:56.5 | loss. Was it a surprise? No. The writing was on the truth social wall for a long time. When you look at |
| 1:05.9 | the way the Republican Party has operated since Trump returned to power. There has been very little room for |
| 1:12.8 | dissent and some very notable examples of said dissent. With Massey, you had the push to |
| 1:18.8 | release the Epstein files where he was on the wrong side of Trump. You have the Iran War and other |
| 1:24.3 | military actions where he's on the wrong side of Trump. You even had him as one of the few people to vote against the one big beautiful bill act on the Republican side. |
| 1:34.3 | Again, on the wrong side of Trump. |
| 1:36.3 | So in a time when the Republican Party is almost completely unified in lockstep with President Trump, |
| 1:42.3 | we are seeing the few people past and present that have |
| 1:47.1 | had those gaps finally have the primary reckoning with voters who say they like what Trump says. |
| 1:53.2 | And the reality is when Trump targets you in a Republican primary, you're probably in trouble. |
| 1:59.4 | And, you know, we saw millions of dollars, tens of millions |
| 2:02.2 | of dollars in ads unleashed in this race. Thirty-three million dollars spent on TV ads, |
| 2:07.6 | according to our partner ad impact, which tracks ads. And they say that is the most ever |
| 2:14.7 | for a house primary. So a really, you know, unbelievable amount of money that |
| 2:20.5 | was just pouring in to try to defeat Massey. And if you ask any member of Congress, the last thing |
... |
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