Rep. Thomas Massie's campaign sent a text message to Kentucky voters on primary day featuring Donald Trump's endorsement of Massie, from 2022. The problem: Trump endorsed Massie's opponent earlier this year and has been actively working to remove the seven-term congressman from office.
The Washington Examiner reported that the campaign text included Trump's old praise calling Massie a "Conservative Warrior for Kentucky's 4th Congressional District" who was "Strong on the Border and our Military and Vets" and had Trump's "Complete and Total Endorsement." That endorsement is three years old. It no longer reflects the president's position.
Trump backed former Navy SEAL officer Ed Gallrein earlier this year to unseat Massie in the Republican primary. The race has tightened since that endorsement, with recent polls giving Gallrein a slight lead after Massie had been ahead in earlier surveys. The margin remained too close to call as Kentucky polling locations prepared to close at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
The text landed in voters' phones on the most consequential day of the race, when impressions matter most and time to fact-check is shortest. Washington Examiner reporter Salena Zito flagged the message, noting it ended with a disclosure that Massie's campaign paid for it. The Examiner contacted Massie's campaign for comment to address the confusion, though no response was reported.
The 2022 endorsement quote used in the text read in full:
"Congressman Thomas Massie is a Conservative Warrior for Kentucky's 4th Congressional District! Strong on the Border and our Military and Vets, Thomas Massie has my Complete and Total Endorsement!"
Every word of that quote is real. But context matters. Trump wrote those words when Massie was his ally in the district. Since then, Massie has frequently opposed the president's agenda in Congress, and Trump responded by recruiting and endorsing a challenger.
Sending voters a three-year-old endorsement without disclosing that the president has since switched sides is the kind of maneuver that erodes trust, not just in one campaign, but in the broader process. Voters deserve to know where candidates actually stand, especially when the endorsement in question belongs to someone who is now actively pressuring Kentucky voters to remove Massie from office.
The president has not been subtle about his preference in this race. He endorsed Gallrein and made clear he wants Massie gone. War Secretary Pete Hegseth traveled to Massie's congressional district just one day before the primary to stump for Gallrein at a campaign rally, a signal of how seriously the administration views this contest.
Massie, for his part, has been trying to hold on to his seat for at least another two years amid sustained attacks from Trump. The congressman made a rare Fox News appearance on the final day of the Kentucky primary, according to a related report referenced by the Examiner.
The dynamic in Kentucky's 4th District mirrors a pattern playing out across the Republican landscape. Trump has shown he is willing to back primary challengers against incumbents who break with his agenda. He pulled his endorsement of Colorado Rep. Jeff Hurd over a tariff dispute and backed a Navy veteran challenger instead.
And the pressure extends beyond the candidates themselves. Trump reportedly threatened to withdraw his endorsement of Rep. Lauren Boebert after she campaigned for Massie in Kentucky, a warning shot to any Republican thinking about crossing the line.
Earlier surveys had Massie in the lead. That changed after Trump threw his weight behind Gallrein. Recent polls showed the former Navy SEAL with a slight edge, though the margin remained razor-thin.
In a race that close, a primary-day text blast carrying the president's name and words could move votes. That is presumably the point. But the text did not mention that Trump endorsed Gallrein. It did not note that the quoted endorsement was from a previous election cycle. It simply presented Trump's praise of Massie as though it were current.
Polling data in the race has been limited in public detail, specific margins, sample sizes, and survey dates were not disclosed in the reporting. What is clear is that the contest shifted after Trump's endorsement of Gallrein, and Massie's campaign apparently felt enough pressure to reach for an old lifeline.
The broader trend of Trump-backed challengers gaining ground against incumbent Republicans who break ranks is not going away. The question for voters in these races is whether they trust the information they receive, and whether campaigns will play it straight.
There is nothing illegal about quoting a real endorsement. Politicians recycle favorable press all the time. But there is a difference between citing past praise in a mailer and blasting a three-year-old presidential endorsement to voters' phones on election day when the president is now backing your opponent.
The text included a paid-for disclosure identifying Massie's campaign. It did not include any disclaimer about the endorsement's vintage or Trump's current position. The Washington Examiner described the message as implying Trump supports Massie "when that is clearly not the case."
Massie's campaign had not publicly responded to the Examiner's inquiry as of the reporting. The full verbatim text of the message, the number of recipients, and the vendor that distributed it were not disclosed.
Republican voters in Kentucky, and everywhere else, have shown they take party loyalty and accountability seriously. They watch how their representatives vote, and they notice when campaigns cut corners with the truth.
If your best argument on primary day is an endorsement the president took back, the voters probably already have their answer.
