Millennial Congressman-elect, Madison Cawthorn, was lambasted for using his attack on a Black Georgia candidate as a dog whistle to White supremacy.
At 25, Cawthorn became the youngest member of Congress—in at least 200 years—after winning with 54.5% of the vote for the 11th District congressional seat in North Carolina.
This week during a Fox News segment, the Republican newcomer accused Georgia Senate candidate Raphael Warnock of being an imposter and slammed his stance on women's right to choose.
Warnock is an ordained minister who was born and raised in Georgia and currently serves as Senior Pastor at Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta.
The Democratic Senate candidate is currently running neck-in-neck with junior Senator and notorious homophobe, Kelly Loeffler.
Cawthorn, who clearly was not a fan of Warnock, said:
"You see this Warnock fella who's coming down here and disguising himself as some moderate pastor from the south who doesn't believe in these radical ideas."
"But if you look at him really what he actually believes, he is a radical's radical."
"He wants to defund our police. He says he's a pastor, yet he's all about abortion."
"This is somebody who does not represent what real Americans believe."
Führer enthusiast Madison Cawthorn has thoughts on "what real Americans believe" https://t.co/141rhDbyaG— Aaron Rupar (@Aaron Rupar) 1608039658.0
Cawthorn—who survived a 2014 car accident that left him partially paralyzed—was deemed a rising star in the GOP as a "fighter," but his campaign had also been marred by allegations of sexual misconduct and racism.
He was also accused of being a Nazi sympathizer.
In 2017, he visited the Eagle's Nest—Hitler's vacation home in Bavaria—and posted photos of his trip and referred to Hitler as "the Fuhrer." Cawthorn said the Eagle's Nest was a "bucket list" destination that "did not disappoint."
He also called Hitler a "supreme evil."
Cawthorn said in the Fox interview that if the Georgia runoff is handed over to the Democrats, it would not represent the values of his home in western North Carolina, Georgia, and "most people in the United States of America."
While the Hitler vacation-home visitor was not specific to whom he referred as "most Americans" in this week's Fox interview, the implication he was talking about White people seemed clear based on past comments.
@atrupar If you replace the words “real Americans” with “white nationalists” it makes more sense.— Lori Lane Rodriguez (@Lori Lane Rodriguez) 1608039800.0
In a July interview on the Charlie Kirk Show, Cawthorn slammed the Black Lives Matter Movement by calling it "a radical Marxist movement."
He also said Asheville, North Carolina's passing of the reparations initiative for Black residents "sets a dangerous precedent" because it leads to a "victimhood mentality."
Cawthorn asserted Black people did not deserve financial assistance because "we [paid] enough when 600,000 Americans died to free slaves."
Queerty noted openly gay author and activist Keith Boykin called Cawthorn out on Twitter.
Boykin referred to Cawthorn's visit to the Eagle's Nest to slam him, and wrote:
"Unlike Madison Cawthorn, Raphael Warnock was born and raised in Georgia and is the pastor of Dr. King's church."
"And unlike Cawthorn, Warnock doesn't take trips to Hitler's vacation home and post them on Instagram."
“This Warnock fellow...coming down here...says he’s a pastor.” Unlike Madison Cawthorn, Raphael Warnock was born a… https://t.co/wQ5MIcqtY1— Keith Boykin (@Keith Boykin) 1608040525.0
Others on Twitter expressed how they really felt about Cawthorn after his remarks.
@atrupar Every time he says " real Americans" he is specifically speaking about White Americans. He should say that… https://t.co/vwSWItMSmF— Socrates (@Socrates) 1608043180.0
@atrupar When this kiddo said "he comes down here..." what he meant was he's doesn't belong here. When kiddo said "… https://t.co/bi6lc5EFUH— Asian Karen (@Asian Karen) 1608062744.0
@atrupar I won’t retweet this horrible guy, but the fact that he was elected makes me appalled at the lack of intel… https://t.co/JMtvjqPTN9— Meg Madison (@Meg Madison) 1608046240.0
@atrupar Does he understand what “majority of Americans” means? Because EIGHTY ONE MILLION OF US WOULD LIKE A WORD.— John Panzer (@John Panzer) 1608051495.0
@atrupar What is a radical’s radical? Why do Trumpist love that word so much? Radicals through history🤔 Issac Newto… https://t.co/BSIX3m3n7v— Stacy125 (@Stacy125) 1608042580.0
@atrupar I don’t like to say that anyone’s opinion is invalid but anyone who thinks Hitler’s Eagle Nest is a bucket… https://t.co/5WFCtFSCOz— King of Cups (@King of Cups) 1608040479.0
@atrupar To Madison: You don’t represent my values. So you’re from western NC, huh? I’m from NC. You can gladly lea… https://t.co/tfbpTRSyA9— Peach (@Peach) 1608041366.0
Again, Cawthorn did not elaborate on who "real Americans" are, but Refinery 29 had a keen grasp of what is really happening by discrediting much of Cawthorn's spurious claims about the Georgia Senate candidate.
The news outlet wrote:
"By using coded language and calling Warnock an imposter and a radical, Cawthorn is signaling to White supremacists that there's a cultural war they must constantly be fighting while also insinuating that Warnock is too dangerous to elect to the Senate."