Donald Trump Endorses Matt Maddock, Tells Him 'You Have a Great Wife'

Donald Trump has praised Michigan state Rep. Matt Maddock and his "great wife" in a message of support as he campaigns to become the Statehouse's GOP leader.

Maddock, a staunch supporter of the former president and the false claim that he lost the presidential election because of widespread voter fraud, posted Trump's message on social media on Thursday.

The image shows a printout of a Detroit News article about Maddock's run for leader of the Michigan House.

The printout appears to have been signed by Trump, with the message: "Matt I am with you all the way. Also, you have a great wife!" The word "great" is underlined.

"Thank you Mr. President, we won't let you down," Maddock tweeted alongside the image.

The lawmaker's wife, Meshawn Maddock, is co-chair of the Michigan Republican Party. She has frequently pushed conspiracy theories about the 2020 election and helped promote the "Stop the Steal" movement in the run-up to the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

In a statement to Newsweek, Rep. Maddock said: "My wife is great, and working hard every day as co-chair of the Michigan Republican Party to make Michigan great again.

"I'm honored to have President Trump's support and hope I can live up to his faith and trust in me.

The Detroit News printout also has a couple of edits made using a pen. In a sentence about "Trump's unproven claims that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him," the letters "un" from unproven have been crossed out and the words "rigged and" inserted before the word "stolen."

It is unclear if these edits were made by Maddock or Trump.

Meshawn Maddock also shared the photo on Facebook with the comment "Those sharpie edits" and a heart emoji.

The Maddocks are seen as a Republican power couple in Michigan whose influence has grown as they continue to embrace Trumpism.

As reported by The Detroit Metro Times, Meshawn Maddock organized busloads of Michigan residents to travel to the January protests in D.C. and gave a speech the day before the riot.

Jeff Timmer, a former member of the Michigan Republican Party, has described Meshawn Maddock as the "most powerful person in Michigan Republican politics."

Timmer also told the Metro Times in February: "She is nuts. Her husband is nuts. They are crazy, stupid and mean. They think they are saving the world."

In the days after the storming of the Capitol, the Detroit Free Press reported that both Maddocks were part of a Facebook group where members discussed the possibility of a civil war and called for a "big cleanup" of elected leaders.

In a statement after January 6, Meshawn Maddock said: "I urge all Trump supporters who are upset with the election to stand against violence and not allow what happened last week in Washington D.C. to ever happen again, anywhere in our great country.

"The actions of those who stormed the Capitol were wrong and hurt the president and his legacy. Violence is never the answer. We need to focus our efforts on electing Republicans in 2022."

Trump has also issued a statement backing Rep. Maddock via his Save America PAC.

"Matt Maddock is a long-time activist and a grassroots leader. He was a Trump original, one of my earliest Michigan supporters in 2016," Trump said.

"The Maddock family is also wonderful. Matt's wife, Meshawn, is a great ally and has been doing amazing things to help fix the Michigan Republican Party.

"If Michigan drains the Lansing swamp, it will take a leader like Matt Maddock to do it. Matt is running for re-election. He has my Complete and Total Endorsement," Trump added.

"We need leadership in Michigan who will investigate and document the 2020 voter fraud, the Crime of the Century. We can't have any more stolen elections like the last one."

Update 11/12/2021, 12:15 p.m. ET: This article was updated to add comments from Matt Maddock.