Madison Cawthorn accused of being ‘juvenile’ in response to Cheney removal

North Carolina freshman mocked for celebrating removal of House Republican Conference chair by quoting song from 1969

North Carolina Rep Madison Cawthorn was slammed as childish for his tweet celebrating the removal of Wyoming Rep Liz Cheney as House Republican Conference Chair in which he quoted the Steam hit Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye.

Playing on the lyrics of the 1969 tune, Mr Cawthorn tweeted: “Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey, goodbye Liz Cheney.”

The anti-Trump campaigning group the Lincoln Project responded with links to two articles in which Mr Cawthorn defended photos taken of him at Adolf Hitler's vacation home and another piece detailing sexual harassment accusations against Mr Cawthorn from his time in college. He has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.

Pastor and author John Pavlovitz tweeted an image from the Capitol riot on 6 January saying “you did this”. Mr Cawthorn spoke at the “Save America” rally at the ellipse not far from the Capitol before the riot started.

“My friends, the Democrats, with all the fraud they have done in this election, the Republicans hiding and not fighting, they are trying to silence your voice,” he told the cheering crowd.

Trump critic Jeff Tiedrich mockingly asked “are you five years old[?]” Mr Cawthorn is, at 25 years old, the youngest congressman since 1965 and the first to be born in the 1990s.

Attorney Eric Slater wrote: “How professional and mature of you. The Republican Party is engaging in ... wait for it ... cancel culture. You don't realize that you’re aiding in not only your downfall, but the downfall of your ‘party.’ Enjoy!”

“The fact that a sitting member of Congress would tweet this and think it's a good idea tells you everything you need to know about today's Republican party,” Twitter user Burl Chester added.

Another account holder added: “This guy doesn't have a legislative staff because he wanted to bulk up on PR staff… and this is the material they come up with.”

Steve Metz wrote that Mr Cawthorn’s “personal brand” was “performative juvenilism” and that he “wouldn’t recognize character, integrity, and devotion to constitutional principles if they built a nest in your hair”.

Noting the age difference between the song referred to and Mr Cawthorn himself, Emily Porter tweeted: “You were -26 years old when this song was released which is probably why you forgot a ‘hey.’ Put some respect on Steam’s name. But seriously, I expected nothing less from a lying, traitorous slimeball who dabbles in forcing himself on women during his ‘fun drives.’”

Helen Kennedy said: “At least quote the song correctly, you ludicrous putz.”

Dennis Perkins also went after the North Carolina freshman, writing: “Hey, you’re that Nazi-fetishist accused rapist who lied about his military service.”

The Independent has reached out to the office of Mr Cawthorn for comment.