This weekend, North Carolina Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn appeared on the right-wing YouTube show Warrior Poet Society and announced that Washington D.C. is just like House of Cards—and not because of the dark political intrigue. Cawthorn talked about the “sexual perversion” he says is prevalent on the Hill, claiming to have been invited to orgies hosted by respected senior lawmakers, who he also says he’s seen do key bumps of cocaine out in the open.
People were quick to point out that Cawthorn is virulently anti-Democrat, so these politicians he says he’s “looked up to through [his] life” and is chummy enough with to get an invite to “sexual get-togethers” in their homes, are likely residing on his own side of the aisle.
Naturally, Republicans have made it clear they’re not too happy with Cawthorn right now.
Politico’s Olivia Beavers reported: “Multiple sources tell me Leader Kevin McCarthy says he plans to talk to freshman Rep. Madison Cawthorn over his orgy remarks,” saying “several” House Republicans were “upset” over Cawthorn’s claims.
CNN’s Melanie Zanona added that she “Can confirm that House Republicans complained today about Cawthorn’s ‘orgy’ & ‘cocaine’ remarks. Specifically, members said that if it’s true, he needs to name names because otherwise it unfairly maligns the entire institution. McCarthy promised to speak with him about it.”
Beavers said that Arkansas Rep. Steve Womack was one of the Republican congressmen who stood to talk about Cawthorn today, and that he says he’s now having to field questions about which lawmakers are having orgies and doing cocaine.
She also noted that Cawthorn was not present this morning. Probably the right call on his part.
This isn’t the first time that a Cawthorn interview has left listeners with more questions than they started with. In 2020, he spoke with the right-wing site The Daily Caller and told what he clearly thought was a cool, fun story about how he met his then-soon-to-be, now ex-wife. It involved a fake Crossfit competition put on by an American he met at a Russian casino, all orchestrated to put him in the same room as the woman he would end up marrying. Every single person who heard that story left with the impression that Cawthorn was at least potentially (if not definitely) the target of a “honeypot” espionage situation.
To be clear, no evidence has been provided to support that theory, it’s just the kind of thing we apparently have to come to expect from Madison Cawthorn interviews.
What else did we see out there today?
- Jay-Z’s Oscar party was picketed by a labor union after he refused to move it from the iconic Hollywood hotel the Chateau Marmont. (via THR)
- Activision Blizzard settled their (latest) sexual harassment lawsuit for $18 million. (via Kotaku)
- Republicans are now attacking “social-emotional learning,” calling it an extension of what they’ve already erroneously dubbed “critical race theory.” (via Washington Post)
- Roxane Gay makes a great argument for not having to be able to “take a joke.” (via New York Times)
- And another “slap” take from the Times (yes, sorry about the paywall): “Four Opinion Writers on Will Smith’s Slap: ‘There Are No Heroes in This Story.’” (via NYT)
- A New Jersey town sued this 82-year-old woman/hero for filing too many public records requests. (via NJ.com)
(via The Week, image: courtesy of the Committee on Arrangements for the 2020 Republican National Committee via Getty Images)
