Jenna Ellis in Grapevine, Texas in 2021 (Gage Skidmore)
With the Kentucky Republican primary looming on Tuesday, pitting sitting Representative Thomas Massie (R-KY) against a candidate endorsed by President Donald Trump, the election has become the most expensive primary race in the country’s history. Massie drew Trump’s anger after several consequential no votes and by pushing for the release of the Epstein files, and this antagonism has split MAGA in two, as its followers have fought over who best represents their “America First” ethos. Now, former Trump advisor Jenna Ellis is adding her two cents, and her assessment is grim for Republicans.
“Either way, the Left wins,” she tweeted on Monday. “Scenario A: Massie wins, Trump loses. The Left wins because Trump lost. Scenario B: Massie loses, Trump wins. The Left wins because Massie is gone. Idk about you, but I didn’t vote for this.”
Ellis is no casual Trump ally. Described as Trump lawyer Ruby Giuliani’s “protégé,” she pleaded guilty in Georgia for attempting to overturn the 2020 election results, is under indictment for the same crime in Arizona, and has had her attorney’s license suspended in Colorado for her anti-electoral efforts there.
In her post, she’s suggesting two outcomes. In one, Massie wins, remaining in Congress as a bulwark against some of Trump’s most radical tendencies while bringing into question the power of the president’s endorsement. In the other, a victory by a Trump loyalist could mean the seat goes blue in the November general election due to the president’s historically low approval ratings. It would also more firmly establish the idea that the GOP is the party of Trump, which could bring ballot box blowback in races across the country.
On Monday, figures from both sides of the race made their final cases. Delivering speeches against Massie were the likes of Vice President JD Vance and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, with the former comparing Massie to Stalin and the latter accusing him of standing apart “from the movement that President Trump leads.” Backing Massie are many far-right MAGA figures, such as Marjorie Taylor Greene, Tucker Carlson, and Alex Jones.