Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) is not impressed by Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.), who recently became a subject of a viral story involving The Rachel Maddow Show on MSNBC. A producer for that program mistakenly included Cawthorn’s office on an email chain in which the producer said that the Maddow team was “a little worried” that the Congressman might ask to appear on the show if asked for comment about an effort by voters in North Carolina to keep him off the ballot over his ties to the Capitol riot. Those voters are basing their efforts in the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which bars individuals who have engaged in insurrection from holding certain public offices.
Caught up with Mike Rounds after he drew Trump’s ire by stating the fact that Biden won the election. “It’s up to us to continue to tell people that, number one, if we're going to be honest, the election results as we tabulated them were accurate,” he said.
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) January 11, 2022
Predictably, Cawthorn and his allies, including Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), ran with the Maddow story. Boebert claimed on Twitter that “Rachel Maddow is terrified of debating Madison Cawthorn” — although that’s not what the email itself appears to actually indicate. The claimed concern was on the part of individuals on the host’s team. Kinzinger replied to Boebert’s comments as follows:
‘Trust me here, nobody is afraid of Madison [Cawthorn]. Unless you’re a rotted out tree (seriously google that people). Literally you all have built your skills/intimidation up in your own head.’
The tree incident involves a bizarre video that circulated not too long ago of Cawthorn punching the rotten remains of a tree… for some reason. See Kinzinger’s comments below or over at this link:
Trust me here, nobody is afraid of Madison Cawthorne. Unless you’re a rotted out tree (seriously google that people) Literally you all have built your skills/intimidation up in your own head. https://t.co/XT0Z0rEIrB
— Adam Kinzinger (@AdamKinzinger) January 11, 2022
Cawthorn is one of a group of first-term Republican members of the House who have closely allied themselves with former President Trump, sticking by him even in the wake of the attack on the Capitol. (Others include Boebert and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, from Georgia.) He’s also put forward plenty of disturbing vitriol all on his own — like the time he told his followers to “be dangerous” after the not guilty verdict in the homicide trial of Kyle Rittenhouse, who shot and killed two people at a protest in Wisconsin in 2020. Kinzinger, meanwhile, is continuing his service on the House committee investigating the Capitol riot, which has recently turned its focus towards individuals including ex-Vice President Mike Pence himself, who they’re hoping to have testify.
Republican Mike Rounds responds to Trump: "I'm disappointed but not surprised by the former president's reaction. However, the facts remain the same. I stand by my statement. The former president lost the 2020 election."
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) January 11, 2022
