'Pretender and fraud': White House rails against former MAGA rep's campaign for House seat

One former MAGA superstar is hoping to return to the House of Representatives in 2026, but the White House is already signaling that it will be fighting to make sure someone else wins.

NOTUS reported Friday that some in President Donald Trump's administration have harsh words for former Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-N.C.), who is running for an open U.S. House seat in Florida in next year's midterms. There are already multiple Republicans vying for the Naples-area seat being vacated by Rep. Byron Donalds (R-Fla.), but unnamed sources within Trump's orbit told NOTUS in no uncertain terms that Cawthorn wouldn't be getting any support from the administration — particularly after losing his 2022 reelection bid despite having Trump's endorsement.

“Madison was a disaster in his first term in Congress and everything that Team Trump has seen from him since, only makes people think he’s going to be even a bigger disaster this time around,” one source said. “He has a bit of talent so it is unfortunate that he is so self destructive.”

Cawthorn cemented a reputation among House Republicans as one of Trump's most staunch devotees, and spoke at Trump's January 6, 2021 rally that preceded the attack on the U.S. Capitol (leading to two former North Carolina Supreme Court justices arguing that his support of the insurrection should disqualify him from appearing on the 2022 ballot). However, Cawthorn angered House Republicans after going on a podcast and alleging that multiple GOP members of the House did drugs and invited him to participate in decadent sexual activity. He was recently arrested in Florida for failing to appear in court after being pulled over for driving without a license.

"House Republicans want Madison Cawthorn back about as bad as they want a colonoscopy," an aide for House Republican leadership told NOTUS.

Cawthorn's chances of winning the Republican nomination are already slim, particularly given his competition. Former Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.), who resigned from Congress after pleading guilty to insider training (and was later pardoned by Trump) is running, along with former Illinois state senatorJim Oberweis (R) and Ola Hawatmeh, who was a policy advisor to Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.). Axios referred to the contest as the "carpetbagger primary" given how many candidates are from out of state.

"The great thing about Trump 2.0 is how fast the grifters and the pretenders have been exposed and removed," an unnamed national Republican strategist connected to Trump said of Cawthorn. “Suffice it to say — Madison Cawthorn is a perfect example of the kind of pretender and fraud that has no place in the current GOP.”

NOTUS reported that while White House sources and GOP strategists are bearish on Cawthorn, Trump himself has not made an endorsement in the race.

Click here to read NOTUS' report.