Rep. Thomas Massie (R-KY) apologized to his supporters for being late to his Republican primary defeat speech on Tuesday night, remarking that he “had to call” his opponent to concede and “it took a while to find Ed Gallrein in Tel Aviv.”

After Massie lost the Republican primary for Kentucky’s 4th Congressional District, losing to AIPAC and Trump-endorsed candidate Gallrein, the congressman spoke to a lively crowd of supporters who repeatedly chanted his name and urged him to run for president in 2028.

Responding to chants of “Massie! Massie!” the congressman remarked, “Listen, I would have come out sooner, but I had to call my opponent and concede, and it took a while to find Ed Gallrein in Tel Aviv. I did get the call through, though. I have called and conceded the race. We’ve been honorable the whole time, and we’re gonna stay that way.”

Massie lost to Gallrein on Tuesday evening with just over 45% of the vote in the most expensive House primary in history.

President Donald Trump repeatedly lashed out at the congressman in recent months for pushing for the release of the Epstein files – government documents relating to the late child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, who was a close friend of Trump for several years.

“This is the Epstein administration, and they’re attacking me for trying to get these files released,” said Massie in February, accusing Trump of being part of “the Epstein class.”

As a prominent critic of Israel in Congress, Massie’s campaign was also fought heavily by pro-Israel lobby groups, including AIPAC, which pumped millions of dollars into the race.

“Congratulations to US Navy SEAL Ed Gallrein for defeating anti-Israel incumbent Thomas Massie!” AIPAC celebrated in a statement following Massie’s defeat. “Pro-Israel Americans are proud to back candidates who support a strong 🇺🇸🇮🇱 alliance and help defeat those who work to undermine it. Being pro-Israel is good policy and good politics!”

Watch above via C-SPAN.

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