Is Madison Cawthorn’s claim of Capitol Hill orgies fake? GOP says ‘name names’
North Carolina Representative Madison Cawthorn has turned himself into an enemy within his own party, after viral comments on a podcast. The Rep. accused his Republican colleagues of doing cocaine and frequently hosting "a sexual get together", comparing the scenes in Washington DC to the Netflix show 'House of Cards'. While he has few friends across the aisle, it appears those comments have lost him some on his own side as well.
Republicans were quick to hit back at Cawthorn, slamming him for what they say are widely false accusations. It's another classic example of the infighting in the GOP, which is causing a massive rift between the old guard, and newer members like Cawthorn, Marjorie Taylor Greene, and Lauren Boebart. Many have also distanced themselves from Donald Trump, with the former President's election fraud claims being repeated by several Congressional hopefuls, but few in Congress right now.
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Clearly, Cawthorn's comments have struck a nerve, so much so that House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has announced he intends to speak to the Rep. one-on-one. Of course, it's highly unlikely he will be censured, rebuked, or face any other consequences, but the backlash goes to show just how divided the GOP is, with the midterms fast approaching.
'Let’s see who he hangs out with'
For those unaware, Cawthorn appeared on the Warrior Poet Society podcast and said, "I look at all these people - a lot of them who I've looked up to throughout my life ... then all of a sudden you get invited to like, 'well hey we're going to have kind of a sexual get together at one of our homes. You should come,' like, what did you just ask me to come to? And then you realize they're asking you to come to an orgy."
He also added, "There's some of the people that are leading the movement to try and remove addiction in our country and then you watch them doing, you know, a key bump of cocaine in front of you and it's like wow, this is wild." He likened DC to 'House of Cards', specifically its elements of "corruption, power, money, and perversion." Those comments were quickly slammed by his colleagues.
Madison Cawthorn affirms Washington DC is like the movie House of Cards and said people that he’s looked up his whole life who are now in their 60’s or 70’s have invited him to an orgy at their home and others have done cocaine in front of him. pic.twitter.com/iJnWMJ9PIR
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) March 27, 2022
"It does paint the picture here that isn't accurate. Name names. Let’s see who he hangs out with," replied Rep. Dan Crenshaw. North Carolina's two Senators, Richard Burr and Thom Tillis also slammed Cawthorn, with Burr saying he was an "embarrassment at times" and Tillis noted he had "not done much" and said Cawthorn had a "lack of judgment". Others, however, chose to carefully distance themselves from Cawthorn.
"I don’t know anything about what Madison referenced. I’ve heard about it; I haven’t seen the video," Rep. Jim Jordan told The Daily Beast. Rep. David Schweikert offered a completely different take, calling Capitol Hill "one of the most boring places," and adding, "Truly, it’s one of the most banal places you can imagine." "I haven’t seen those parties. So, I need to find out more about it before I comment, because that just seems rather bizarre," responded Rep. Louie Gohmert when he was asked.
While McCarthy hasn't publicly addressed Cawthorn's comments, reports say that at a closed-door meeting, the leader took offense to "Cawthorn portraying his own colleagues as bacchanalian and sexual deviants." It certainly seems as if the GOP wants to portray Cawthorn as a lier, but it's a fine line they will have to tread with the Rep. up for reelection in the midterms.