últimas notícias

• Madison Cawthorn has busted Donald Trump’s claim of having an “unparalleled” endorsement record.
• Cawthorn is a Trump ally whom the former president said deserved a “second chance” in Congress.
• Cawthorn lost his primary race to Chuck Edwards, debunking the myth of the power of Trump’s backing.

Freshman Rep. Madison Cawthorn’s loss in North Carolina to his primary challenger, Chuck Edwards, has busted the myth surrounding the power of former President Donald Trump’s political endorsements. 

Trump threw the embattled congressman a lifeline ahead of his Tuesday primary, posting on Truth Social — Trump’s social media platform — an appeal for voters to “give Madison a second chance.” In his post, Trump wrote that Cawthorn had recently “made some foolish mistakes, which I don’t believe he’ll make again.” 

However, Trump’s backing did little to push Cawthorn over the line to beat Edwards, a candidate bolstered by a Republican-linked super PAC and endorsed by a senator from Cawthorn’s home state, Thom Tillis.

Cawthorn’s loss comes after a slew of scandals: In March, he angered senior GOP lawmakers by making claims about orgies and cocaine use by lawmakers in DC. The following month, he was accused by a former staffer of being a “habitual liar,” and received a second citation for bringing a loaded gun into an airport. 

The lawmaker may have also violated the STOCK Act by failing to disclose his purchases of the “Let’s Go Brandon” cryptocurrency coin.

Snaps of Cawthorn dressed in lingerie while on a cruise — which he dismissed as “goofy vacation photos” — were also leaked in April. He was also the subject of two leaked videos posted online by a PAC that campaigned against his re-election. Cawthorn dismissed both videos as part of a “drip campaign” to oust him. 

Cawthorn’s ouster comes weeks after Trump boldly claimed that his backing of Republican candidates was vital for their success.

“My record is unparalleled, my endorsements, it’s totally unparalleled. Nobody’s ever had a record like this. I’m almost unblemished,” Trump said during an interview with David Brody on the Christian Broadcasting Network’s show “The 700 Club.” 

Trump said on the show that Republicans should be afraid of him if their views didn’t line up with his. “Because if I endorsed them, they win, and if I don’t endorse them, they don’t win. I mean, that’s almost 100% of the case,” the former President said. 

A Trump-backed GOP win is certainly not guaranteed if this week’s results are anything to go by. Another Trump-endorsed political candidate, Charles Herbster, lost his gubernatorial race in Nebraska last week amid allegations of sexual assault from eight women.

Meanwhile, other Trump-backed figures, including Georgia gubernatorial candidate David Perdue, have struggled to keep up in their respective races. 

However, Trump-endorsed candidates have also seen some electoral victories.

JD Vance won his primary for the Ohio Senate on May 4, while Doug Mastriano, a clear front-runner backed by Trump, won his race in the Pennsylvania governor primary. Mastriano is best known for being a 2020 election denier and participating in the plot to overturn then-President Donald Trump’s loss in the state.

Trump has made 183 endorsements since leaving office, per Ballotpedia, many of which have yet to play out. 

For his part, Cawthorn has conceded the race to Edwards, per the Associated Press.