Madison Cawthorn isn’t a subtle guy. The far-right whippersnapper recently opted to clean his gun while sitting through a hearing on toxic burn pits (and their devastating effects on veterans). He’s also (all photographic evidence to the contrary) declared that MAGA rioters were simply “normal people” who were only “kind of wandering in,” so it wasn’t too much of a surprise to see Cawthorn as one of the Republican congresspeople who are reportedly linked (by Rolling Stone) to the Jan. 6 insurrection. Nor is it off base for him to give a bonkers interview to the Daily Caller’s Brianna Lyman.
One of the gems in this interview: Cawthorn raves about how Donald Trump is a “genius” and a dad figure who somehow hops on the phone with him every day:
“Trump is like a father to me, I get to talk to him every single day. He’s incredible, he’s a genius. Being 26 years old obviously I don’t have a ridiculous amount of experience with dealing with foreign policy, so if I can just call the former president of the United States and say, ‘hey, what would you do in this situation?’ and he can tell me exactly what the whole background is to it. So I love him. He’s been very good to me and he’s been so good to our country.”
Madison Cawthorn: “Trump has become like a father to me. I get to talk to him just about every single day. He’s incredible – such a genius.” pic.twitter.com/LEvpSuirTs
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) January 31, 2022
Uh, does Don Jr. know about this? Regardless, Cawthorn’s cult-y, possibly grifty way of speaking perked up some Twitter users.
For many, it’s a cult. For many, it’s a grift. For Cawthorn, who’s so young, ignorant, & immature, it’s probably a little bit of both. https://t.co/XVrS1TlLaI
— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) February 1, 2022
Madison Cawthorn is so dumb that he thinks Donald Trump is a genius.
— The USA Singers (@TheUSASingers) February 1, 2022
.@CawthornforNC: “I have a personal relationship with my Lord and Savior, Donald Trump. He lives in my heart.”
— John Pavlovitz (@johnpavlovitz) February 1, 2022
Get this, madison cawthorn talks to trump everyday but if trump’s kids want to talk to him they have to text a member of his staff.
— Covie (@covie_93) February 1, 2022
I agree with Madison Cawthorn: Trump is a genius.
A genius at tax fraud. A genius at cheating on his wives. A genius at lying. A genius at misogyny and racism.
But mostly, he’s a genius at making people who are dumber than him think he’s a genius.#GOPStupidity #DemVoice1 https://t.co/s8GAE04gaA
— Iche_mé (@iche_me) February 1, 2022
That wasn’t all. Cawthorn also declared, “I think there are members of the federal government deeply involved in Jan 6.” Eyebrows are raising over how on-the-nose this statement might be.
.@CawthornforNC says of Jan. 6 that “I think that there were members of the federal government who were deeply involved.”
He doesn’t know how close he is to getting it.
The rhetoric of elected officials like him and Trump contributed to the insurrection.
They were involved. pic.twitter.com/0mPSUIReYM
— The Republican Accountability Project (@AccountableGOP) January 31, 2022
Madison Cawthorn today: “I think there are members of the federal government deeply involved in Jan 6”
I agree
Those involved in the terrorist attack include Cawthorn HIMSELF, Greene, Ted Cruz, Hawley, Gaetz, Boebert, Gosar, Brooks, Meadows
& the most odious of them all, Trump
— Lindy Li (@lindyli) February 1, 2022
Madison Cawthorn: “I think there are members of the federal government deeply involved in Jan. 6.”
You know Madison, you might be onto something. I suggest you look in the mirror & then your sides to start.
Lauren Boebert, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Josh Hawley, etc…#DemVoice1 pic.twitter.com/hbFQefu8R3
— The Jewish Ginger Resister (@JewishResister) February 1, 2022
I agree with Madison @CawthornforNC for a change.
He was deeply involved in January 6. https://t.co/2OmY0AX0M5
— Grant Stern is boosted! (@grantstern) February 1, 2022
Madison Cawthorn just now: “I think there are members of the federal government deeply involved in January 6.”
— Tristan Snell (@TristanSnell) February 1, 2022
Madison Cawthorn says that he thinks that there were “members of the federal government deeply involved in January 6”. Does he mean, like, him?
— Rex Zane (@rexzane1) February 1, 2022
And finally, Cawthorn made a clearly false statement about how the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests resulted in “all of our major cities burned to the ground.”
Madison Cawthorn said during the BLM protests in the summer of 2020 “we had all of our major cities burned to the ground.” pic.twitter.com/ulg46amFjE
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) January 31, 2022
Louis Gohmert: “I am hands down the dumbest member of Congress!”
Madison Cawthorn: “Hold my beer!” https://t.co/U5tE9vqdCL— Norman Ornstein (@NormOrnstein) January 31, 2022
It’s a wild set of statements to make, especially when a group of lawyers is working to prevent Madison from running for reelection this year. He’s also got a contender, Josh Remillard, waiting in the wings. Patton Oswalt tweeted support for Remillard and raised some awareness for donations to the North Carolina hopeful’s campaign.
During my time in the Army, I defended our nation abroad.
Now, I’m going to unseat Madison Cawthorn and defend our democracy at home.
— Josh Remillard (@JoshRemillardNC) January 31, 2022
Hey, this guy’s trying to unseat Madison Cawthorn! I just donated — please do likewise if you can! THANKS! https://t.co/69ZLpgyKwH
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) February 1, 2022