This November, 25-year-old Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina was elected to the House of Representatives, making him one of the youngest people to ever serve in Congress.
He has quickly become the focal point of online controversy due to his ties to the so-called alt-right and history of both racist and anti-semitic incidents.
Cawthorne posted, deleted, and then re-posted a picture of himself visiting "the vacation house of the Führer," saying his trip to Hitler's home was on his "bucket list."
On his website, Cawthorn wrote that his opponent, Moe Davis, left his previous job "to work for non-white males, like Cory Booker, who aims to ruin white males running for office."
Now, Cawthorn is under fire yet again for comments made during an interview with Jewish Insider. While speaking with the Jewish magazine, Cawthorn proudly described his attempts to convert "a lot" of Jews to Christianity.
The Congressman-elect said:
"I have switched a lot of, uh, you know, I guess, culturally Jewish people. But being a practicing Jew, like, people who are religious about it, they are very difficult. I've had a hard time connecting with them in that way."
Jewish Insider took special note of that comment and pointed out its similarity to a sermon Cawthorn delivered in July 2019:
"If you have Jewish blood running through your veins today," he told the crowd, mulling on a chapter from the Gospel of Mark, "this might not mean as much to you, but for someone like me, who's a gentile, this means a lot."
Twitter was shocked by Cawthorn's statements and their insensitivity to different faiths.
Many saw Cawthorn's election as an indication of the GOP's willingness to send literally anyone to Congress.
Others were sadly unsurprised by Cawthorn's comments.
It's hard to imagine how Cawthorn thought his efforts to convert Jewish people would be something a Jewish magazine would want to hear about.
Madison Cawthorn hasn't exactly made the best first impression on his way into Congress. Hopefully, for the sake of his constituents, he manages to turn things around.
