Who's 'the worst person'? Trump trashes maverick Massie on visit to his state

President Donald Trump blasted fellow Republican Rep. Thomas Massie in his Kentucky district as the "worst person" and "a total disaster," as the president demanded loyalty from GOP lawmakers who hold narrow majorities in the House and Senate.

Massie is a conservative lawmaker but has run afoul of Trump for leading the approval of legislation forcing the release of Justice Department documents about the accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein. Massie also voted against Trump's tax-cut legislation last year and to halt the war on Iran, a resolution that failed.

“He’s the worst person," Trump said of Massie at a rally at Verst Logistics in Hebron, Kentucky. "Massie is a complete and total disaster as a congressman and frankly as a human being."

Trump often threatens to support primary opponents of Republicans who oppose him. But the Kentucky trip is part of an escalation of his involvement in congressional races, after he traditionally lobbed his insults or endorsements of rivals through social media or in exchanges with reporters

Trump's Kentucky visit comes two weeks after he visited Rome, Georgia, where the race is on to succeed former GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who resigned after clashing with the president. Trump's Republican choice, Clay Fuller, got into a runoff in the March 10 primary against Democrat Shawn Harris.

Trump is campaigning to hold on to narrow Republican majorities in the House and Senate in the November midterm elections − and to ensure loyalty in the ranks.

The House has 218 Republicans and 214 Democrats with three seats vacant. Massie becomes a key vote when he sides with Democrats.

"We've got to get rid of this loser," Trump said of Massie. "He's disloyal to the Republican Party. He's disloyal to Kentucky. And most importantly, he's disloyal to the United States of America. He's got to be voted out of office as soon as possible."

Trump endorsed Ed Gallrein, a Kentucky farmer and former Navy SEAL, in the May 19 GOP primary against Massie. Gallrein received four Bronze Star Medals and two Presidential Unit Citations during his 30 years in the military. Trump said he was "straight out of central casting."

“He said, 'I came back because of the strength and wisdom that Donald Trump displayed,'" Trump said of Gallrein. “I’m going to use that statement in an ad."

Millions of dollars have been poured into the primary race from voters throughout the country and from a handful of billionaires. Gallrein joined Trump on stage to say that his endorsement had generated a lot of support for his campaign. 

"You deserve an authentic true Republican conservative that stands shoulder to shoulder with our president and the Republican Party, and against the Democrats who are trying to destroy our nation," Gallrein said.

Massie was one of a few Republicans in the House and Senate to oppose the war on Iran. He argued that Congress holds the power to declare war and Trump hadn’t met the requirements of the 1973 War Powers Resolution to embark on the war without a congressional declaration, without statutory authorization and without an attack on the United States.

“American families in my district want to know: How is this going to help them pay for groceries?” Massie said on the House floor on March 4. “How does this make them any safer in their schools or in their neighborhoods? How does this help them pay for housing?”

What is the dispute between Trump and Massie over Epstein?

Trump was friends with Epstein in the 1990s and early 2000s before a falling out. Trump’s picture and name appear repeatedly in the documents but he has forcefully denied wrongdoing.

Trump criticized Republicans who sided with Democrats in approving the Epstein files as fools. Trump argued that Epstein documents distracted from the successes of his administration.

The department has released about 3.5 million pages of documents and withheld another 2.5 million pages. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche has said the confidential documents name the women who accused Epstein of abuse, could hurt potential prosecutions or include the internal legal deliberations of the department.

Trump calls Massie 'worst' but Massie says they share supporters

Trump has said it’s time to move on. But lawmakers such as Massie continue to call for the release of all the documents, to learn about alleged co-conspirators with Epstein and how he made his money.

Hours before his trip, Trump singled out Massie for criticism in a social media post.

"I predict that 'Representative' Thomas Massie will go down as the WORST Republican Congressman in the long and fabled history of the United States Congress," Trump said.

Massie said in an interview before Trump posted the comments that he welcomes the president to his district because they share a lot of the same supporters.

"I've taken care to never insult the president, to never call him names," Massie said. "If I have a policy disagreement with him, I articulate it and keep it to that."

Contributing: Reuters