Far-right Congressman Madison Cawthorn is showing no signs of ceasing his barrage of controversial or offensive comments and on Monday took his rhetoric a step further with an odd choice of words used to define a biological woman during a speech on the House floor.
During a speech on the House floor on Monday, Mr Cawthorn attacked Democrats for their embrace of protections for transgender individuals against discrimination, and in doing so offered his own definition of a biological woman.
“Take notes, Madame Speaker. I’m about to define what a woman is for you. XX chromosomes, no tallywhacker. It’s so simple,” said Mr Cawthorn.
The euphemism used by the congressman to describe genitalia drew immediate reactions on social media from commenters who questioned the 26-year-old congressman’s choice of words.
“This is what happens when you're homeschooled on physiology. At least he didn't call it a peepee,” wrote one eye-rolling Twitter user in response.
Mr Cawthorn has been in the headlines lately after an interview he gave with a conservative YouTube channel went viral due to explosive claims the congressman made about his own colleagues during the discussion. The North Carolina Republican accused veteran figures on Capitol Hill, seemingly referring to Republicans, of inviting him to an “orgy”, and others involved in the movement against drug addiction of doing “key bump[s] of cocaine” in front of him.
Those comments drew immediate widespread condemnation from members of his own party, while Democrats largely sat out the drama or reacted with amusement. Republican members of Congress told reporters that their constituents were demanding answers about the claims Mr Cawthorn had levied, and within days he was hauled in front of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Minority Whip Steve Scalise to explain himself.
After the meeting, the House GOP leader issued a rare condemnation of one of his own members and accused the congressman of lying in the interview.
“He's lost my trust is gonna have to earn it back. And I laid out everything that I find is unbecoming,” Mr McCarthy told reporters after the meeting.
“This is unacceptable. There's no evidence to this. He changes what he [says] and that's not becoming of a Congressman... He did not tell the truth,” added the California congressman.
His latest comments are not likely to draw ire from Republicans but do little to get his name out of the headlines as he continues to battle GOP rivals in a crowded primary race for his seat; he also faces a challenge from Democrats in the fall should he retain his nomination for a second term, but the likelihood of a Democrat defeating him in the sharply-red 11th congressional district of North Carolina is slim.
One of the Democrats fighting in the May primary race for her party’s nomination in the district vowed that she would defeat Mr Cawthorn in November, while indicating that Congress should expel him first.
“Today, Madison Cawthorn said that the definition of a woman includes the term ‘no tallywhacker’ and that ‘science is not Burger King.’ If Congress won't expel him, I will defeat him,” promised Katie Dean.
