[quote] Just a month after he invited Cawthorn to speak at a North Carolina rally, Trump has grown increasingly annoyed and disappointed with his MAGA apprentice. The twice-impeached former president has described some of what he’s heard about Cawthorn’s latest woes — and the online sexual imagery associated with it — as “gross,” according to two sources who’ve heard Trump speak about the matter in the past couple weeks.
[quote] Over the past three weeks, someone (or some group) has shared personal videos of Cawthorn engaged goofing in sexually suggestive antics with the apparent aim of raising questions about his sexuality to North Carolina voters. Cawthorn has pushed back by dismissing the videos as years-old attempts at humor, saying their release is part of a plot from “the left.”
[quote] Trump, for one, is not impressed. “Trump is not at the point of pulling his endorsement, but the [former] president says he wants to sit back and see what happens,” one of the sources recalls. “But he’s been disappointed with Madison, and thinks he has problems handling his [public relations],” specifically with the video and photos that have surfaced.
[quote] The other source said that lately Trump had voiced bewilderment and disgusted confusion about what he’d been told of the flood of leaks and footage, asking at one point in recent days if one of the allegations was that Cawthorn was “fucking his cousin?” (That is not one of the allegations. Instead, Cawthorn’s cousin, who is also on his staff, appears in some of the videos where sex is discussed.)
[quote] Former “President Trump is completely weirded out by the allegations,” a third source, a Trump ally, bluntly relayed to Rolling Stone. Cawthorn’s office did not reply to several requests for comment. A Trump spokesperson did not provide comment on this story, either.
[quote] The recent lack of outward, vocal support from Trump has left Cawthorn — facing a seemingly unending series of scandals including, insider trading allegations, multiple firearms violations, and leaks of sexually charged videos — vulnerable to attacks from his many mainstream Republican enemies. And he’s facing defections even from among the MAGA faithful.
[quote] “What I find interesting is that no one’s really coming out and defending him on a national level. The Marjorie Taylor Greenes, the Matt Gaetzes, the Lauren Boeberts — those people aren’t coming out to defend him,” George Erwin, a former district director for Cawthorn who regrets his support for the U.S. congressman, told Rolling Stone on Friday.
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[quote] In recent years, Cawthorn had also made his share of petty enemies among his fellow MAGA politicians and candidates in the Tar Heel State, privately pitching himself to his Trumpist compatriots as the state’s true gatekeeper to the 45th president, two people with knowledge of the situation said. “He thinks he’s such a big shot,” one of the people said.
[quote] Erwin — a one-time sheriff in Henderson, NC — says he’s seen a similar pattern play out locally. “I know a lot of people that gave substantial amounts of money to him, worked hard for him, supported him and, buddy, they’re just pulling back or saying ‘no way. We’re not going there,” he added.
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[quote] “That guy is a hot mess,” said Darrell Scott, an Ohio pastor and MAGAland stalwart who occasionally advises Trump on 2022 candidates. “I think he needs to pursue another line of work in the private sector. There’s too much drama swirling around him that he has to explain. He constantly dismisses sketchy behavior by saying it was a long time ago; but he’s only 26 years old, so it wasn’t THAT long ago…I have nothing personal against him; I just don’t think he needs to be a ‘new face’ of the party with all of the photos and videos coming out. It’s hard for established politicians to stand next to him.”