A mailer sent to voters by the New Wisconsin Majority features Senate candidate Mike Roberts dressed as Donald Trump for Halloween.
Source: Submitted photo
Mailer against Mike Roberts, a Wisconsin State Senate candidate, leads to a clear MAGA social media history
Mike Roberts, Republican candidate for the state Senate, is running as a moderate small-business owner and “healthcare professional,” but his social media sheds a different light of a hardcore MAGA Republican that is loyal to President Donald Trump.
A mailer was sent to voters in recent days by the New Wisconsin Majority, a political nonprofit. Highlighted on the mailer is a Facebook photo of Roberts dressed up as Trump for Halloween 2016, according to a photo of the mailer provided to the Milwaukee Courier.
“MAGA True Believer Mike Roberts Accepts Trump’s Lies About Elections - And Much More,” the front of the mailer states.
“Roberts is a MAGA extremist who believes in Trump’s election denial conspiracies,” the back of the mailer states.
Roberts was cropped out of a photo with five other people as he stood in his physical therapy business, according to a copy of the original photo provided to the Courier. His wife, Lauren, is also in the photo and dressed up as a beauty pageant queen.
Trump used to own the Miss Universe Organization, which includes the beauty pageants Miss Universe, Miss USA and Miss Teen USA.
Roberts and his wife were dressed up as Trump and a beauty queen the same month an audio recording of the president during an “Access Hollywood” episode was published by The Washington Post in which Trump made lewd comments about women.
Trump talked about kissing women and grabbing them between their legs (using far cruder language) without permission, because he's "attracted" to them like a "magnet."
"[W]hen you're a star," he said, "they let you do it. You can do anything."
In talking about kissing women, Trump boasted: "I'm automatically attracted to beautiful — I just start kissing them. It's like a magnet. Just kiss. I don't even wait."
"Grab them by the p****. You can do anything," Trump continued, using vulgar slang for the female anatomy.
Other old social media posts show Roberts at the 2024 Trump inauguration, taking a photo with Tucker Carlson. In another photo he and his family are wearing “Trump 2020” shirts and in another photo Roberts is wearing a “Gulf of America” shirt.
Roberts is seeking the 5th District in the state Senate against Democrat state Rep. Robyn Vining. The district includes the western suburbs of Milwaukee. Not necessarily heavy far-right or MAGA support. Both candidates have to win over people who view themselves as a moderate.
Roberts and supporters are running TV ads, pitching him as a successful businessman that has provided quality healthcare, but the Courier previously reported that Roberts and his business, Wisconsin Orthopedic Physical Therapy, were the subject of financial mistakes and failures in the past.
Roberts’ campaign didn’t respond to a request for comment.
This race is one of several competitive races for the fate of the Legislature. Early voting is underway in Wisconsin and Election Day is Nov. 3.
Drake Bentley is the general assignment reporter for the Milwaukee Courier, covering politics, sports and the community. He is an award-winning investigative journalist who has worked for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Wisconsin State Journal, Newsweek, Heavy and The Sporting News. He is a northside Milwaukee native, former political staffer and graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and the University of Nebraska.
