Photos of North Carolina Rep. Madison Cawthorn – a Republican who has criticized other politicians for “sexual perversion” – wearing women’s lingerie were released Friday by Politico.
“I guess the left thinks goofy vacation photos during a game on a cruise (taken waaay before I ran for Congress) is going to somehow hurt me?” Cawthorn said in a tweet after the photos were released. He shared a link to an article about Royal Caribbean’s Quest Game Show but did not clarify the date of the photos.
Politico said the images were screenshots and could not be independently verified. The outlet said the images were provided by a person formerly close to Cawthorn and his campaign, with further confirmation from another person who was formerly close to Cawthorn.
At 26, Cawthorn is currently the youngest member of Congress. He was elected in 2020 and is running in the primary for reelection next month against several other Republicans.
Before running for office Cawthorn, who is from a family that has been involved in North Carolina politics for generations, was homeschooled and grew up in a conservative Baptist community. He received a full ride ROTC scholarship to North Carolina State University and was nominated to the U.S. Naval Academy by Rep. Mark Meadows in 2014. That year, he nearly died in a car accident that left him partially paralyzed. Cawthorn now uses a wheelchair.
As an elected official, Cawthorn’s policies are conservative, such as an “America first” stance and pro-life advocacy. He also supports former President Donald Trump’s claims of election fraud.
“Congressman Cawthorn has emerged as one of President Trump’s strongest and most ardent defenders in the Unites States Congress,” according to his government biography. “The fake news media has labeled him ‘Trump 2.0’ and consistently derided him for his support of the President’s agenda. He is a fervent Christian and constitutional Conservative.”
However, Cawthorn’s brand of conservatism has at times alienated him even from others in his party.
“The sexual perversion that goes on in Washington… being kind of a young guy in Washington, where the average age is probably 60 or 70 -- [you] look at all these people, a lot of them that I’ve looked up to through my life, I’ve always paid attention to politics…Then all of a sudden you get invited…” Cawthorn said during an interview last month with the Warrior Poet Society, adding “and then you realize they’re asking you to come to an orgy… Some of the people leading on the movement to try and remove addiction in our country, and then you watch them do a key bump of cocaine right in front of you. And it's like, this is wild.”
According to Politico, Cawthorn later admitted his comments were exaggerated. The interview caused friction between Cawthorn and other Republicans in Congress.
In recent months, he has called Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky a “thug,” as his country fends of a deadly Russian invasion, and suggested teetotaling Democrat Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has a drinking problem, said Politico. Cawthorn has also been found speeding, driving with expired tags and driving with a revoked license. He has court dates in May and June.
Cawthorn’s government biography claims that “the left-wing media has launched every false attack and smear campaign imaginable to block Congressman Cawthorn’s status as a rising star in the Republican Party.”
In his tweet after the photos were released, he said “they're running out of things to throw at me.”
However, some on the left didn’t seem bothered by the images.
“I don’t care that Madison Cawthorn likes to wear lingerie in his free time. It doesn’t bother me, and it doesn’t affect me. If he wants to be playful with gender expression, it’s his life,” said transgender activist Charlotte Clymer in a tweet Friday. “I do care that Madison Cawthorn attacks trans people and shames us for living our lives.”
She cited an anti-trans speech the congressman made recently on the House floor.
“I think that we have bred a generation of soft men and that generation has created a lot of problems in our society and our culture,” Cawthorn also said in March 2021 on a podcast.
“These new photos of Madison Cawthorn are quite literally the least awful thing about him. A bunch of you are really telling on yourselves with your reactions here,” said Parker Molloy, a writer and transgender activist in a tweet.
By Friday evening, Cawthorn addressed gender identity and the photos in his own tweet.
“My gender didn’t change when I put that stuff on,” he said. “And neither does anyone else’s.”
According to Politico, Cawthorn’s spokesman Luke Ball did not respond to multiple requests for comment.
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