# Trump backs Barr, but his real bet is Gallrein **Published:** 2026-05-06T13:11:24.000Z **Source:** [Kentucky Lantern](https://kentuckylantern.com/2026/05/06/trump-backs-barr-but-his-real-bet-is-gallrein/) **Republished from:** [Kentucky Lantern](https://kentuckylantern.com/2026/05/06/trump-backs-barr-but-his-real-bet-is-gallrein/) (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) **Canonical:** https://kentuckylantern.com/2026/05/06/trump-backs-barr-but-his-real-bet-is-gallrein/ By Al Cross, [Kentucky Lantern](https://kentuckylantern.com) · May 6, 2026 ![](https://kentuckylantern.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/f0338176-bfc1-451c-88ed-a9af7715810f-1024x634.jpg) (Shelbyville Republican Ed Gallrein, left, takes a photo with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office. Gallrein is challenging Republican U.S. Rep. Thomas Massie in the May primary. (Photo provided by Gallrein campaign)) In conversation the other day, a political operative wondered why President Trump bothered to endorse Sixth District U.S. Rep. Andy Barr in the May 19 Republican primary for the U.S. Senate, since Barr was headed for victory anyway. The question answered itself. Barr was on target to win, so now Trump gets to claim credit for it – making him look strong to people not following the race closely. Most of his endorsements have been like that. You can [look them up on Ballotpedia](https://ballotpedia.org/Endorsements_by_Donald_Trump). And though Barr has pledged to “always stand with Trump,” the endorsement strengthens that obligation, at least in Trump’s transactional mind. Trump does what helps Trump. He likes to win, so he usually picks likely winners. But his record in Kentucky isn’t that great. He endorsed losers of the last two governor’s races, Republican incumbent Matt Bevin and challenger Daniel Cameron. The latter loss may have disqualified Cameron from Trump’s endorsement for senator, but Barr was better prepared for the race as a seven-term congressman and member of the Financial Services Committee, a campaign-money magnet. And Cameron’s outspoken criticism of retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell’s votes against some Trump Cabinet nominees chased more of McConnell’s moneyed followers to Barr. Businessman Nate Morris, a political newcomer, had better ties to Trump insiders, as signified by mega-billionaire Elon Musk’s $10 million contribution to a pro-Morris political action committee. But Morris’s campaign got off to a poor start when he went over the top in targeting McConnell, a mentor for Cameron and Barr. In his Fancy Farm Picnic [speech](https://youtu.be/BXUBa8ErYgM?si=Eu1UuZMbg8dkvj0i), Morris attacked McConnell from the start, getting a mix of cheers and boos when he said “I’m gonna trash Mitch McConnell’s legacy” but drawing only boos when he called the octogenarian senator “a senior citizen who freezes on national television during his press conferences.” ![](https://kentuckylantern.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/IMG_6504-300x251.jpg) (Former Attorney General Daniel Cameron says he will meet with voters statewide ahead of Kentucky’s May 19 primary. (Kentucky Lantern photo by McKenna Horsley)) McConnell may be the most unpopular senator in his own state, due mainly to his conflicts with Trump, but he still has a reservoir of respect among knowledgeable Republicans who rightly regard him as the primary architect of their party’s predominance in Kentucky. Given Morris’s treatment of McConnell, he shouldn’t expect speedy Senate confirmation to whatever ambassadorship Trump gives him as his payoff for quitting the race. And ambassador or not, Morris now seems much less able to challenge First District Rep. James Comer in next spring’s primary for governor. #### Trump’s big bet Trump’s endorsement likely relates to the Kentucky race he surely wants to win most. That is in the Fourth District, where he and his allies are going all out to defeat Rep. Thomas Massie, co-sponsor of the Epstein Files Transparency Act. The race between Massie and Trump-endorsed Ed Gallrein is nationally important. If Massie prevails against Trump’s onslaught, it would be a cue to some other House Republicans that Trump’s wrath is no longer political poison. “I’m getting attacked . . . to keep the other congressmen in line,” Massie [said on KET](https://ket.org/program/kentucky-tonight/) Monday night. Also, the outcome in a district where Trump got 67 percent of the vote in 2024 will gauge his current standing with Republican voters who turn out in midterm elections. Gallrein and several other current Trump endorsees are on “rocky footing,” [Politico reports](https://www.politico.com/news/2026/05/05/trump-revenge-endorsement-may-primaries-00906086?aid=529383&cid=5420268&crid=225246178&event=midpoint). Trump’s endorsement of Barr, and of front-runner Ralph Alvarado for Barr’s Sixth District seat, will give him face-saving talking points if he fails in the Fourth. But the statewide endorsement of Barr is also likely to help Gallrein, by mobilizing more of the president’s Fourth District supporters to cast ballots. Most analysts have expected Massie to prevail, since he is a libertarian, deficit-hawk folk hero to many in the district and Gallrein has been a lackluster candidate. But Massie had [detractors in the party](https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/28/trump-and-kentucky-republicans-are-uniting-against-massie-he-could-still-win-00894312) before Trump, and the Trump-Gallrein assaults have surely eroded his support. Now a group connected to the American Israel Political Action Committee is [running ads](https://jewishinsider.com/2026/04/aipac-united-democracy-project-ad-buy-thomas-massie/) noting Massie’s votes with liberal Reps. Alexandria Oscasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar against pro-Israel legislation. Massie generally opposes foreign aid and military adventures, and put himself in Trump’s sights last year by working with Democrats to rein in Trump’s plan with Israel to bomb Iran’s nuclear sites. The day after the attacks, Trump said he would work “really hard” to beat Massie, and the Epstein-files law (which Trump opposed then signed) apparently guaranteed that Trump would follow through. Massie and his allies are attacking Gallrein as a poseur and apostate who left the party when Trump ruled it in 2016-21. Gallrein has disrespected voters by avoiding joint appearances with Massie, and appears to be counting on Trump to win the race for him. That could make him another rubber stamp for the president, as Barr signals he would be. Call me crazy, but I still think Kentuckians want senators and representatives, not rubber stamps. _This column was originally published in the Northern Kentucky Tribune._ ## Sources - [Kentucky Lantern](https://kentuckylantern.com/2026/05/06/trump-backs-barr-but-his-real-bet-is-gallrein/)