Trump endorses Rep. Maddock after Michigan Republican attempted to overturn 2020 election

Following attempts to overturn the 2020 election and repeatedly pushing the lie that the election was stolen, state Rep. Matt Maddock (R-Milford) landed an endorsement from former President Donald Trump Thursday.

In the statement issued by Trump’s political action committee, the former president called Maddock “a Trump original, one of my earliest Michigan supporters in 2016.”

Trump went on to praise Michigan Republican Party Co-Chair Meshawn Maddock, who, like her husband, has falsely claimed that Trump won last November. An investigation by the Republican-controlled Senate Oversight Committee, court rulings and audits have upheld the results of Michigan’s election, in which President Joe Biden won.

The 2020 election was not close, with Biden defeating Trump by more than seven million votes and winning the Electoral College 306-232. In Michigan, Biden beat Trump by 154,000 votes.

“Matt’s wife, Meshawn, is a great ally and has been doing amazing things to help fix the Michigan Republican Party,” said Trump, who appears to be prepping a 2024 presidential bid. “If Michigan drains the Lansing swamp, it will take a leader like Matt Maddock to do it.”

Trump’s statement came hours after Matt Maddock tweeted an image of what appeared to be a handwritten message from Trump on a Wednesday Detroit News article titled, “Rep. Maddock, outspoken Trump supporter, running for House leader.”

“Matt, I am with you all the way,” Trump wrote. “Also, you have a great wife!”

Maddock, a two-term Republican, is running for reelection to represent the state House’s 44th District. As of now, no one has filed to run against Maddock, according to the Milford Township Clerk. Maddock is also seeking to be Michigan’s next speaker of the house; the current speaker, Rep. Jason Wentworth (R-Farwell), is term-limited and cannot run again. Other GOP speaker candidates include Reps. Matt Hall (R-Marshall), who has also been a vocal Trump supporter, Sarah Lightner (R-Springport) and Andrew Fink (R-Hillsdale).

Following Trump’s loss in November 2020, both Maddocks have espoused unfounded conspiracy theories and unsubstantiated allegations of election fraud that right-wing lawmakers and Trump supporters have continued to back.

The couple was in Washington, D.C. for the Jan. 6 insurrection, when thousands of Trump supporters protested the election results by storming the U.S. Capitol, breaking windows, flying Confederate and Trump flags, ransacking congressional offices, and breaking into House and Senate chambers — all of which led to armed standoffs, mass evacuations, numerous arrests, and five deaths.

The most incredible crowd and sea of people I’ve ever walked with ♥️ https://t.co/y2ylv9VctG

— meshawn maddock (@CoChairMeshawn) January 6, 2021

Matt Maddock, who did not immediately respond to a request for comment for this article, was one of 12 state legislators who signed a brief asking the U.S. Supreme Court to require the Michigan Legislature to certify the state’s presidential results. He was also one of 11 Republicans who signed a letter asking that then-Vice President Mike Pence delay certifying the 2020 election.

Trump tried to sway Michigan Republicans to overturn the election, but then-House Speaker Lee Chatfield — whose position Maddock is attempting to win — and Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey (R-Clarklake) did not do so.

The Maddocks too have been instrumental in pushing the Michigan GOP to the right, and both have been deeply critical of the concept of Republican moderates. About five years ago, they formed the Michigan Conservative Coalition with the stated goal of training “an army of conservative activists” that would move the state Republican Party further to the right.

Trump has become increasingly involved in state elections and has backed a number of candidates across the country who have advocated for what’s become known as “the big lie,” or the false and repeatedly debunked claim that Biden stole the election from Trump.

In September, Trump endorsed state Rep. Steve Carra (R-Three Rivers) and Republican Secretary of State candidate Kristina Karamo, both of whom have aligned themselves with the former president’s false mantra that he won the election.