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Madison Cawthorn calls for mothers to raise ‘monster’ men in terrifying speech against ‘demasculation’

‘If you are raising a young man, please raise them to be a monster’

Alisha Rahaman Sarkar
Tuesday 19 October 2021 11:23 BST
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Rep. Madison Cawthorn calls for mothers to raise ‘monster’ men in terrifying speech

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North Carolina’s Republican representative Madison Cawthorn claimed society is trying to “de-masculate young men” and urged mothers to raise their sons to be “monsters,” in a blatant display of toxic masculinity.

Citing “historically low” testosterone levels in young men, Mr Cawthorn is seen in videos circulating on social media and reportedly filmed at a recent event, saying that “our culture today is trying to completely de-masculate all of the young men in our culture (sic)”.

“But my friends, they are trying to de-masculate the young men in our country because they don’t want people who are going to stand up,” the representative claimed.

The staunch Donald Trump ally then went on to urge mothers present at the event, who he claimed were the “most vicious” in the right-wing movement, to raise their sons to be monsters.

“If you are raising a young man, please raise them to be a monster,” he said.

His comment was welcomed with cheers and applause from the audience.

The Republican, however, received flak online for his “radical” statement.

“America is an exceptional nation precisely because we don’t raise monsters,” wrote representative Ted Lieu in a tweet, slamming Mr Cawthorn.

“Radical Republicans are dangerous,” he added.

Luke Ball, a spokesperson for Mr Cawthorn, said the congressman was urging parents to raise their sons as “strong, godly, men who are warriors for truth and morality.”

“Monsters and lions, not wimps and sheep,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying by Newsweek.

Mr Cawthorn is notorious for his radical speeches. Earlier this year, he gave a speech at the 6 January “Stop the Steal” rally, which preceded the Capitol Hill riot. The Trump supporter claimed illegal voter fraud caused Mr Trump to lose the election.

In August, he said “bloodshed” was inevitable if “our elections continue to be rigged”.

His statement was criticised by several leaders, including House speaker Nancy Pelosi and Republican leader Liz Cheney, a critic of the far-right.

Ms Pelosi said House minority leader Kevin McCarthy should take action after Mr Cawthorn said those arrested after the Capitol riot were “political hostages” and another plan was being worked on to bring people to Washington.

“Fewer than eight months after insurrectionists stormed the US Capitol to beat police officers and threaten the lives of Capitol workers, journalists, members of Congress and congressional staffers, Republican representative Madison Cawthorn is calling for another January 6th-style attack,” Ms Pelosi said in a statement.

In another public statement, Mr Cawthorn said if Republicans retake full control of Congress, he’ll pursue legal charges against Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.

He had said in a tweet that Dr Fauci was the highest-paid government employee to be wrong about “the science” every single time.

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