Donald Trump on Monday reaffirmed his support for embattled North Carolina Rep.
Madison Cawthorn ahead of the scandal-plagued lawmaker's primary race.
Voters in North Carolina head to the polls on Tuesday in the crowded eight-way Republican election.
Whoever wins the state's deep-red 11th Congressional District GOP primary is the runaway favorite to claim the House seat in November.
The ex-president took to his new platform Truth Social shortly after midnight on Monday to say Cawthorn should be given a 'second chance' for making 'foolish mistakes' that include the leak of a nude tape and claiming he was invited to cocaine-fueled orgies by senior members of Congress.
'At 18 years of age, Madison Cawthorn, the now 26 year old Congressman from the Great State of North Carolina, went through a life changing event the likes of which, fortunately, few people will ever have to endure,' Trump wrote on Truth Social.
The former president was referring to a fiery 2014 car wreck that left Cawthorn paralyzed from the waist down and in need of a wheelchair.
His post continued, 'In just seconds, he lost the use of the lower half of his body, a traumatic experience to say the least.'
'When Madison was first elected to Congress, he did a great job.
Recently, he made some foolish mistakes, which I don't believe he'll make again...let's give Madison a second chance!'
Trump reaffirmed his support for Cawthorn ahead of the North Carolina congressman's crowded eight-way primary race.
He previously endorsed Cawthorn for re-election in March of 2021
Trump previously endorsed Cawthorn in March of 2021, appearing side-by-side in a maskless video at Mar-a-Lago at a time when Florida's COVID-19 cases were surging.
'He has my endorsement, he has my complete and total, as I like to say, endorsement.
And he's a very special guy and let's back him all the way, whatever he wants to do,' the ex-president said in the clip.
But that was before a series of scandals put Cawthorn squarely in opposition to senior 바카라사이트 members of his party.
Cawthorn ignited a firestorm of criticism from Republicans in North Carolina and in Washington in late March when he made comments on a podcast describing 'sexual perversion' from members of Congress.
He claimed to have been invited to an orgy and alleged he saw at least one lawmaker do cocaine.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Cawthorn 'lost' his 'trust' after meeting with the young Congressman last week, claiming his behavior was 'not becoming' of his national office.
Since then he's been accused of being involved in a cryptocurrency pump-and-dump scheme, had multiple run-ins with highway patrol, been caught at an airport with a handgun in his carry-on luggage, and has dealt with multiple damning videos showing him behaving inappropriately - among a laundry list of other incidents.
The ex-president declared he was standing by the young Republican lawmaker in a post made on his new social media platform Truth Social
'Here in the mountains, we don't seek the limeligh
/>We put our heads down and get to work,' Edwards says in the short clip. 'If you want a celebrity, go watch the Kardashians.'
Cawthorn's fight for political survival is a test of Trump's endorsement strength, after his backing managed to pull once-long shot GOP Senate candidate JD Vance to victory in Ohio.
The ex-president is once again cozying up to the 26-year-old after it was reported last week that he found Cawthorn's many scandals 'gross.'
The lengthy sheet of incidents had Trump 'completely weirded out,' two people who heard him speak told .
But despite that, Cawthorn has managed to keep the GOP kingmaker by his side - even as voters appear increasingly disenchanted.
His lead in the polls shrunk from 49 percent support in March to just 38 percent in April, according to Republican group GOPAC.
Edwards still trails Cawthorn by double digits, though his share of support jumped from 14 percent to 21 percent in the same time frame.