SELMA, N.C. — U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn called for sending Dr. Anthony Fauci to jail and impeaching President Joe Biden during a rally Saturday with former President Donald Trump.
Cawthorn spoke to the conservative Republican base at the rally in Selma about fighting the “dark forces” that he said now control the federal government.
Cawthorn promised change if they “put America First patriots in power in Washington, D.C.” and “put Donald Trump back in command in the White House.”
Cawthorn’s speech comes as the former president has hinted at running for a second term in 2024 and the congressman faces a contested primary in May in his Western North Carolina district on the other side of the state from Johnston County.
Cawthorn called Trump the 45th and 47th president.
“We will embrace the spirit of our Founding Fathers,” Cawthorn said. “We will investigate Anthony Fauci and send him to jail for lying to Congress.”
Cawthorn was repeating the claim that Fauci, the chief medical adviser to Biden, has lied to Congress.
Some Republican U.S. senators have accused Fauci of having lied to Congress about whether the National Institutes of Health may have funded research that led to COVID-19 being created in a lab in China.
In an October fact check, The Washington Post gave the accusation against Fauci “two Pinocchios.” FactCheck.org wrote that, “There’s no evidence that Fauci lied to Congress ... given that the NIH unequivocally backs up Fauci’s statement” about the research.
Cawthorn’s comments about Fauci drew cheers from the crowd at The Farm at 95, an outdoor venue located about 30 miles southeast of Raleigh.
Some of the loudest cheers came when Cawthorn, who was paralyzed in a car accident in 2014, stood up on the stage with the help of two aides and rested on a walker. “God spared my life,” Cawthorn said. “He has given me the strength to stand before you today so do not lecture me on what’s impossible.”
Saturday’s campaign event with Trump occurs as Cawthorn has run afoul of some GOP leaders for his actions.
Cawthorn’s recent controversies include a series of charges of speeding and driving violations and unflattering comments about the Ukrainian president after Russia’s invasion.
Also, Cawthorn appeared in March on the Warrior Poet Society podcast and alleged that members of Congress in their 60s and 70s have invited him to orgies and have done lines of cocaine in front of him, The News & Observer previously reported.
Amid the fallout, U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, N.C. Senate leader Phil Berger and N.C. House Speaker Tim Moore are backing state Sen. Chuck Edwards over Cawthorn in the primary for the 11th Congressional District, The N&O reported.
In response, Cawthorn has focused on how he has Trump’s support. Trump praised Cawthorn on Saturday, telling the crowd that “man, I love him.” “He loves his country and he loves his state, and I’ll tell you that he’s respected all over the place,” Trump said. “He’s got a big voice, Madison Cawthorn.”
The 26-year-old freshman first-term representative from far-western North Carolina has generated headlines since being elected to Congress in 2020. His attacks on the “far left” have made him a favorite among some conservatives.
On Saturday, Cawthorn said that “dark forces” are now in control of the government. But he said that restoring conservatives to power will allow them to do things like “restore the Second Amendment by repealing the National Firearms Act.”
The National Firearms Act was originally enacted in 1934 by Congress to tax guns and to regulate weapons such as machine guns. Cawthorn also targeted Biden, whom he called a “geriatric despot.” “We will secure our borders and finally my friends, we will impeach Joe Biden for his dereliction of duty,” Cawthorn said.
