THREAT ASSESSMENT: RNC Chair Rona McDaniel confronts Madison Cawthorn’s “scary” Dark MAGA comments
When asked about defeated Congressman Madison Cawthorn’s (R-NC) call for the “rise” of Dark MAGA, RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel had this to say – “I don’t know what that is.” Since losing the NC GOP primary on May 17th, Cawthorn has been in full MAGA meltdown mode.
All this despite a seemingly normal and appropriate concession tweet the evening of the primary:
Congratulations to @ChuckEdwards4NC on securing the nomination tonight.
It’s time for the NC-11 GOP to rally behind the Republican ticket to defeat the Democrats’ nominee this November.
— Madison Cawthorn (@CawthornforNC) May 18, 2022
Two days later, Cawthorn would take to his Instagram, posting what could be considered a “call to arms,” vowing revenge against his detractors – and threatening that something more ominous was coming. He posted this photo with the caption:
When the establishment turned their guns on me, when the Uni-party coalesced to defeat an America First member very few people had my back. This list includes the lion share of figures that came to my defense when it was not politically profitable. These are honorable men and women who are the type of friends anyone yearns to have. “At the beginning of a change the patriot is a rare and hated man.” These are those rare and hated men/women. There are other National figures who I believe are patriots, but I am on a mission now to expose those who say and promise one thing yet legislate and work towards another, self-profiteering, globalist goal. The time for genteel politics as usual has come to an end. It’s time for the rise of the new right, it’s time for Dark MAGA to truly take command. We have an enemy to defeat, but we will never be able to defeat them until we defeat the cowardly and weak members of our own party. Their days are numbered. We are coming.
On May 22, Rona McDaniel was questioned by Martha MacCallum, host of FOX News Sunday, about Trump-endorsed Cawthorn’s reference to Dark MAGA. MacCallum, correcting herself by adding “former” after calling Trump “president” – asked McDaniel: “What do you think of that? And what is — what is “Dark MAGA?”
McDaniel claimed she doesn’t know, dismissing MacCallum’s statement by saying that “It sounds scary,” and telling the host:
“It sounds like the Star Wars thing, like the dark side of the force. I don’t know. I don’t know what that is. Obviously, it was a very well-fought primary. Madison had some issues that came out. He was a rising star in our party, and we need to make sure we retain that seat with Edwards, who defeated him. And Madison did the right thing by conceding.”
While McDaniel may downplay the seriousness of Cawthorn’s statements, likening Dark MAGA to science-fiction, the American people have seen what can happen — from the January 6th insurrection to the recent White supremacist massacre in Buffalo — when we don’t take this type of inciteful rhetoric at face value.
Follow Ty Ross on Twitter @cooltxchick
