The Charlie Kirk Show - This 24-Year-Old Is Likely Headed to Congress. Meet Madison Cawthorn

00:00:00.000 Thank you for listening to this Podcast 1 production.

00:00:02.000 Now available on Apple Podcasts, Podcast 1, Spotify, and anywhere else you get your podcast.

00:00:08.000 Hey, everybody.

00:00:08.000 Today on the Charlie Kirk Show, I interview a friend of mine, 24-year-old Madison Cawthorne, who's going to be the youngest member of Congress ever elected in the history of America and the youngest member of Congress since a 22-year-old was appointed in the 1780s.

00:00:22.000 He's a friend of mine.

00:00:23.000 He's a Christian.

00:00:24.000 He's a conservative.

00:00:25.000 He's a clear thinker.

00:00:26.000 He's constitutionally sound.

00:00:28.000 I interviewed him when I was subbing in. for Sebastian Gork on America First.

00:00:32.000 It was a terrific conversation.

00:00:33.000 Email me your questions, freedom at charliekirk.com.

00:00:36.000 Type in Charlie Kirk Show, hit subscribe, screenshot, and email us back, freedom at charliekirk.com.

00:00:40.000 The first 20 people to do so will get a signed copy of the MAGA Doctrine.

00:00:43.000 Get involved with TurningPointUSATPUSA.com.

00:00:46.000 Buckle up.

00:00:47.000 Amazing conversation with a 24-year-old who's going to Congress to help save our country.

00:00:51.000 You will have optimism by the end of this conversation.

00:00:54.000 Here we go.

00:00:55.000 Charlie, what you've done is incredible here.

00:00:56.000 Maybe Charlie Kirk is on the college campus.

00:00:59.000 I want you to know we are lucky to have Charlie Kirk.

00:01:02.000 Charlie Kirk's running the White House, folks.

00:01:05.000 I want to thank Charlie.

00:01:06.000 He's an incredible guy.

00:01:07.000 His spirit, his love of this country, he's done an amazing job building one of the most powerful youth organizations ever created, Turning Point USA.

00:01:16.000 We will not embrace the ideas that have destroyed countries, destroyed lives, and we are going to fight for freedom on campuses across the country.

00:01:24.000 That's why we are here.

00:01:27.000 I am joined right now, we are joined right now, by a friend of mine, someone who shocked the world.

00:01:34.000 You see, President Trump tweeted out that he is 82 in one in primaries, and that one just happened to be the one that is with us today.

00:01:42.000 It's not because he's not a Trump supporter.

00:01:44.000 It's just because he's young.

00:01:45.000 He was not part of, let's say, the Good Old Boys Network and shocked the world.

00:01:49.000 He's 24 years old, younger than I am, and I'm 26.

00:01:52.000 He'll be the first person going to Congress that is younger than I am.

00:01:55.000 He is a Christian, a conservative, a pretty awesome guy, and he joins us right now.

00:02:02.000 Madison, welcome to America First, and welcome to Charlie Kirk Filling In.

00:02:06.000 How you doing?

00:02:08.000 Charlie, it's a great pleasure to be here, brother.

00:02:10.000 You know, I know that we are in dire times in our country.

00:02:13.000 I know that's why you started TPUSA.

00:02:15.000 That's why I started running for Congress.

00:02:17.000 So I'm really excited to kind of break into what's ailing our country.

00:02:21.000 So Madison, again, is 24 years old.

00:02:24.000 He won his primary.

00:02:25.000 Madison, tell us why you're running.

00:02:27.000 Tell us the story of your life story.

00:02:29.000 It's absolutely incredible.

00:02:31.000 It's something that everyone should get to know.

00:02:33.000 It's a story of overcoming adversity, of being a victor, not a victim.

00:02:38.000 The floor is all yours.

00:02:40.000 Well, you know what, Charlie?

00:02:41.000 I'll tell you, I was raised in the mountains of Western North Carolina.

00:02:45.000 Incredible place to grow up, pristine mountain views.

00:02:47.000 But more importantly, I was raised with an incredible family.

00:02:50.000 One that taught me conservative values, one that, you know, really kind of orchestrated my Christian faith and helped me, gave me the freedom to kind of investigate religion and my faith on my own.

00:03:01.000 But I created a relationship with Jesus Christ.

00:03:04.000 And everything was going well in my life.

00:03:05.000 You know, I was 18 years old.

00:03:07.000 I had been accepted.

00:03:08.000 I was nominated to the United States Naval Academy.

00:03:11.000 I was an athlete, signed on playing football.

00:03:13.000 Life was going great.

00:03:14.000 I really couldn't have asked for anything more until everything changed very rapidly.

00:03:19.000 I was on a road trip with one of my very best friends.

00:03:22.000 I was taking a nap in the passenger seat.

00:03:25.000 And for whatever reason, in the middle of the day, my friend just decided that it would be a better group activity.

00:03:30.000 He fell asleep behind the wheel of an SUV.

00:03:34.000 And I was in the passenger seat.

00:03:35.000 Then we ran headlong into a concrete wall in a construction zone about 70 miles an hour.

00:03:41.000 That was a my life changed in an instant and didn't have even the opportunity to fight back.

00:03:46.000 I was dead asleep.

00:03:48.000 I came very close to dying.

00:03:50.000 I had a 1% chance to live.

00:03:52.000 Spent about a year and a couple months in a hospital.

00:03:55.000 Four months of that was an ICU.

00:03:56.000 The rest was just learning how to live again.

00:03:58.000 Had a traumatic brain injury.

00:04:00.000 I had was one of the most injured people to ever live in the history of Florida.

00:04:05.000 But you know what was the worst part is that I am still confined to a wheelchair today.

00:04:10.000 It really makes going through life a lot more difficult.

00:04:14.000 And as I'm sure you can imagine, Charlie, that taught me some pretty obvious lessons.

00:04:18.000 One, it taught me perseverance.

00:04:20.000 It taught me grit.

00:04:21.000 It taught me that, you know what, the good times don't last, but neither do the bad times.

00:04:25.000 So that when you're in the good times, relish them, enjoy them, be thankful for them.

00:04:30.000 But when you're in the bad times, remember that it's not going to go on forever.

00:04:33.000 You will get through it and you can move on past it.

00:04:36.000 And so, you know, I kept my head down.

00:04:38.000 I kept my faith.

00:04:39.000 I did get to a pretty dark spot at one point.

00:04:41.000 And I'll tell you, Charlie, I made a T graph chart.

00:04:45.000 You know, on one side, there was a pros.

00:04:47.000 On the other side, there were the cons.

00:04:48.000 And, you know, if the cons of continuing to live life in a wheelchair outweighed the pros, I was going to just give up.

00:04:55.000 I wasn't going to do it.

00:04:56.000 And that was a pretty pivotal moment in my life.

00:04:59.000 And so I made that T graph.

00:05:00.000 I went all the way down.

00:05:02.000 And the pros outweighed the cons by one point.

00:05:06.000 And you know what?

00:05:07.000 The last thing I wrote down was that I still had the ability to make a difference because God decided to protect my mind and protect my ability to speak.

00:05:15.000 And so I knew I still had that ability.

00:05:17.000 And you know what?

00:05:17.000 So I've carried away from that the sense of duty for my fellow man.

00:05:22.000 You know, I have come from a very long military lineage.

00:05:25.000 Everyone in my family has been a Marine since the 1780s, every generation.

00:05:29.000 So I'm the first generation to let that down.

00:05:31.000 But you know what?

00:05:32.000 Thankfully, I have a different opportunity to serve in a different capacity and get to serve the people on the side of the government and try and actually make the government work for the people.

00:05:41.000 You know, Charlie, I know you and I have oftentimes gested that, you know, it's kind of a kingdom in D.C. where people are just trying to pass decrees and tell us what to do.

00:05:51.000 And so that's why I'm running.

00:05:52.000 You know, I just got engaged.

00:05:53.000 I'm planning on having children.

00:05:54.000 And I want to create a better world to give to them than the one I received.

00:05:58.000 And I don't see that we're going in that direction.

00:06:00.000 Well, Madison, we're up against a break and you're staying through the half hour here.

00:06:03.000 I want everyone to stay very closely attuned right now because you're listening to a 24-year-old who's going to be the youngest member of Congress since what, Madison?

00:06:11.000 Tell me really quick, youngest member since what, like 1780?

00:06:15.000 Since 1782, a man was appointed at 22.

00:06:19.000 So I believe I'll be able to do it.

00:06:21.000 I'll be the first, the youngest elected.

00:06:23.000 Madison is running for Congress.

00:06:25.000 He just won a surprise bid to be the Republican nominee in a county that voted for Donald Trump more so than any other county in the country.

00:06:32.000 That's right.

00:06:32.000 You heard it right.

00:06:33.000 He's 24 years old.

00:06:35.000 He will be the youngest elected member of Congress in U.S. history.

00:06:37.000 Goodbye.

00:06:38.000 Alexandria Cadillac-Cortez is the youngest member of Congress, youngest since the 1780s, where there was a 22-year-old that was allowed to sit in Congress.

00:06:46.000 But now he'll be the youngest ever if he wins.

00:06:49.000 And it's looking that way, but anything can happen.

00:06:50.000 You have to stay humble and work hard.

00:06:52.000 Madison, tell us more about yourself.

00:06:55.000 Well, you know what, Charlie?

00:06:57.000 I mean, I believe that your goals and my goals are very aligned.

00:07:00.000 We're trying to fight this culture war.

00:07:03.000 For so long, I think the Republicans have been fighting this policy battle that they wanted to do behind closed doors and committee meetings.

00:07:10.000 But you know what?

00:07:11.000 I think it's time that we raise up a new generation of patriots to fight this battle out front.

00:07:17.000 You know, the Democrats have been playing checkers while the Republicans have been stuck playing chess.

00:07:22.000 And I think it's vice versa, swap those.

00:07:25.000 I think that the Democrats have had a very long-term strategy for the last few decades.

00:07:29.000 And we're starting to see the dividends pay off for them.

00:07:32.000 And so now it's time to start fighting back.

00:07:34.000 So, Madison, listening to your commentary, you sound, and I know you, you're a friend of mine, as someone who really wants to make D.C. work different functionally, that cares about the country, that doesn't just want to be another politician.

00:07:46.000 You know, being someone who's 24 years old, you'll get and are getting a lot of attention.

00:07:50.000 Tell our audience why you're going to D.C. Why are you fighting so hard?

00:07:54.000 You went through incredible tragedy, as you mentioned previously.

00:07:57.000 But build out for us, if you get elected, what does success look like?

00:08:01.000 What are you going to be fighting for?

00:08:04.000 Well, you know what?

00:08:05.000 In that car accident, I talked about how I learned lessons of grit and perseverance, which should be expected from any trial you go through.

00:08:13.000 But one thing that I did learn that I hadn't expected to was that of empathy.

00:08:17.000 You know, I really learned what it's like to be looked over in a crowd or what it's like to feel disenfranchised and like the system doesn't work for you.

00:08:25.000 And, you know, I really started to understand why so many Americans just, they don't even worry to go out and vote because they don't think that Republican rep the they don't think that our government represents them.

00:08:36.000 And you know what?

00:08:37.000 I can't blame them.

00:08:38.000 They're right.

00:08:39.000 We have so many career politicians that are there to enrich themselves, enrich their friends, and they do not care about the average working American, the backbone of this country and the nuclear family that makes us so strong.

00:08:51.000 And so, you know, I want to go and fight for the Republican Party, but not because I want to save Republicans.

00:08:56.000 I can care less about either party.

00:08:58.000 I want to fight for the republic, small R republic, for our nation, for the very identity and soul of it, because I think we are the greatest force for creativity, for inclusiveness, and for good that the world has ever seen.

00:09:11.000 And I want to preserve that freedom.

00:09:13.000 We're the beacon of hope.

00:09:14.000 We are the light on a hill.

00:09:16.000 Amen.

00:09:17.000 Madison, you and I talk about this a lot.

00:09:19.000 We're both in our 20s.

00:09:20.000 I'm 26, you're 24.

00:09:22.000 I just have to keep on reminding our audience of that, that there's about to be a 24-year-old firebrand going to Congress, and there's good news happening in this country, and you're listening to it right here.

00:09:30.000 God bless Madison's candidacy.

00:09:33.000 Madison, you and I talk about the threat of social media tyranny and how big tech has so much power.

00:09:38.000 Can you talk a little bit about some of the issues you're going to be talking, you know, going to Congress and speaking about first and foremost, especially those that affect the next generation?

00:09:48.000 Absolutely.

00:09:49.000 You know, coming up in this new generation, I believe that what is so imperative is that we maintain our First Amendment rights.

00:09:56.000 What that is, is that we can go and we can be able to speak our mind in the town square.

00:10:03.000 I mean, we saw with the Protestant Revolution in Germany when we went and nailed the theses and the New Testament onto those doors in the town square for the people to see.

00:10:14.000 But you know what? 0.68

00:10:15.000 That has changed.

00:10:16.000 I have a video series I do on social media called The New Town Square, where we talk about issues that are affecting our country.

00:10:23.000 And I will tell you that if we lose our ability to speak conservative ideas or speak ideas, not even conservative or liberal, but ideas that other people just don't agree with, if we lose that ability to speak that in the public forum, then we will have lost our First Amendment rights and everything else will go by the wayside.

00:10:40.000 And so something I think is very imperative for us to fight, especially for this next generation, is that we fight against what I call big tech censorship.

00:10:48.000 You know, we are seeing so often right now that these big tech companies are being able to operate as if they are a platform, which gives them the First Amendment protections under the Constitution.

00:10:59.000 And so they can do just about anything they want.

00:11:01.000 The government can't intervene.

00:11:03.000 But what we're seeing is that overwhelmingly, conservatives are being censored on social media.

00:11:09.000 And it's just wrong.

00:11:10.000 It's limiting the ability for people to have free expression, to be able to challenge ideas that are asinine and wrong, and to be able to call things out for what they are.

00:11:21.000 And if we lose that, we're going to lose our freedoms very, very quickly because we'll all just be sheep who are not able to speak our minds.

00:11:28.000 And so I think one of the biggest things we need to fight back against is this big tech censorship.

00:11:32.000 You know, Charlie, I know you, I think, you know what section of the.

00:11:37.000 Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.

00:11:39.000 Section 230, publisher versus platform.

00:11:39.000 Yeah.

00:11:41.000 You're exactly right.

00:11:42.000 You're spot on here, Madison, and you're talking about something that most Republicans do not have courage to talk about.

00:11:47.000 So finish the thought.

00:11:48.000 I just wanted to commend you on that.

00:11:51.000 No, absolutely.

00:11:52.000 But I'll tell you, I think President Trump just did an executive order, which was encouraging the Federal Communications Commission, the FCC.

00:12:00.000 And you know what?

00:12:01.000 This is another problem with all of our government.

00:12:03.000 You add any three letters in the alphabet together, and it's the acronym for some ridiculous agency that tells what to do.

00:12:11.000 So, anyways, he just had an executive order which is encouraging the Federal Communications Commission to rethink the scope of Section 230.

00:12:19.000 And so, what that means is he wants us to be able to go in and tell these social media companies, hey, you can no longer start to selectively consider who you're going to censor and cover, whether we're talking about shadow bans or whether we're just outright banning people from social media.

00:12:36.000 It's limiting the American people from being able to express free thought and free expression, and it's wrong.

00:12:42.000 It is just wrong, and it's the biggest threat I think facing our generation.

00:12:46.000 I completely agree.

00:12:47.000 And if we are not able to speak, we're not able to get our thoughts out.

00:12:52.000 We have one minute before the break, Madison.

00:12:54.000 Can you quickly tell us how your race happened?

00:12:58.000 Super quick.

00:12:59.000 You were the underdog.

00:13:00.000 You won.

00:13:00.000 Tell us super quick, and then we'll be back.

00:13:03.000 Underdog, we raised $400,000.

00:13:06.000 We had a fighting chance.

00:13:07.000 We were going up against $2 million against a Trump-endorsed candidate.

00:13:12.000 And, you know, I don't think it's a referendum on Trump whatsoever.

00:13:16.000 She's a dear friend of his chief of staff.

00:13:18.000 And so that's how that happened.

00:13:20.000 But you know what?

00:13:21.000 Everyone wrote us off.

00:13:22.000 We were a 24-year-old candidate.

00:13:24.000 They didn't think we could do it.

00:13:25.000 My message is one of uniqueness.

00:13:27.000 America is unique.

00:13:29.000 We were the first nation to really put into practice something that is contrary to tribalism.

00:13:35.000 We don't say we want only people that look like us.

00:13:38.000 We don't say we all want only people that believe like us.

00:13:41.000 We are a country that wants to be a melting pot of all societies.

00:13:45.000 We want to take our ethics from the Judeo-Christian cities like ancient Jerusalem.

00:13:50.000 We want to take our form of government of making sure that everybody has a vote from studying places like ancient Greece and ancient Athens. 0.79

00:13:56.000 We also want to take our love for the rule of law and of the superior infrastructure for places like ancient Rome.

00:14:03.000 We really want to take all of these, and this is what the founders did.

00:14:06.000 This group of imperfect men banded together.

00:14:09.000 They studied all of this classic literature, which enlightened them to the point that they were then able to create a very nearly perfect document in our Declaration of Independence in 1776, and then at the end of the Constitutional Convention with the Constitution.

00:14:23.000 These two documents, our founding documents and the Bill of Rights, have formed a country which has been the greatest force for good the world has ever known aside from Christianity.

00:14:32.000 I believe that if we allow what two centuries of brave men and women have fought and died for to quietly slip into the night because of this radical leftist agenda, which by no means, I say it's radical, but then it makes it sound like it's a fringe element of the left.

00:14:47.000 It no longer is.

00:14:48.000 It is a well-funded, well-thought-out, and well-represented group that is starting to start a Marxist revolution to undo all of the good that the United States of America has been accomplishing for the last two years.

00:15:01.000 I genuinely believe that America is so special.

00:15:04.000 It is so unique.

00:15:06.000 I believe that God's great providence came down and enabled this group of imperfect men, like I said, to create a nearly perfect nation, which was the very first nation, mind you, aside from Haiti, to actually fight a bloody war to free men that were not themselves.

00:15:22.000 We are the first.

00:15:24.000 We fought the Civil War to end the act of slavery, and we really led the way on that front.

00:15:29.000 We're also one of the very first nations in all of history to fight a revolution that did not seek to empower the men that fought it, but rather to empower the everyday man.

00:15:39.000 And that's what we've been getting away from in our country.

00:15:41.000 We see this in the forum.

00:15:43.000 I know I've said it time and time again, with these career politicians that do not represent the people in both ways.

00:15:49.000 We have to start electing people in both parties.

00:15:51.000 There are political hacks, and they are supported by a lot of other politicians who are elected but don't want to do the dirty deeds and they don't want to fight. 0.66

00:16:00.000 And then we have all these cowards who are propping up these immoral leaders who are doing wrong for our country.

00:16:06.000 And so it's time for us to fight, Charlie.

00:16:07.000 That's why you started TPUSA, and that's why I'm running for Congress.

00:16:10.000 Yes, you know what?

00:16:11.000 To all of the listeners over in Western North Carolina, the 17 westernmost counties, I'm fighting to be your weapon in Washington, D.C. You know, I'm looking forward to being your representative.

00:16:21.000 If you want to get behind the campaign financially, you can donate on madisoncawthorn.com.

00:16:26.000 But there's also a contact button.

00:16:28.000 And I believe this is what really made the difference, Charlie, in making sure that we were able to beat all this outside D.C. influencer money and big name endorsements.

00:16:35.000 And that was the volunteers.

00:16:37.000 We had one of the most sophisticated and motivated ground games I think I've ever seen in a campaign, maybe that this nation's ever seen in all of history.

00:16:44.000 And I believe that's what really turned out our votes and did great.

00:16:47.000 So if any of you want to get involved, please join us.

00:16:51.000 Join us here in Western North Carolina.

00:16:52.000 But also to all of you all over the country, if you want to get involved in this cause, the cause for conservatism, this movement that has been boiling and is now reaching a boiling point, I encourage you to make your voice heard.

00:17:06.000 Step up and fight.

00:17:07.000 No longer be the silent majority.

00:17:08.000 Rather be the people, the moral majority who stands up for what's right in our country.

00:17:13.000 I think that's what's needed.

00:17:13.000 And I think patriots need to rise up.

00:17:16.000 Really quick, Madison.

00:17:17.000 I know you got a dash.

00:17:18.000 You're going to be younger than Alexandria Casio-Cortez. 0.96

00:17:20.000 She says we're a racist, bigoted, backward country. 1.00

00:17:23.000 She wants to make everyone a nation of victims. 0.57

00:17:25.000 You, if anyone, could play into that victim card.

00:17:27.000 What is your message there?

00:17:30.000 My message is that if you choose the ideology of victimhood, if you want to sit back and say, oh, you know what?

00:17:38.000 I can't be successful because of that group or because of that person, then that is cowardly.

00:17:44.000 That is not taking the life that you have been given.

00:17:48.000 And believe me, I'm so frustrated almost every time I look out, whether it's on social media, I look out into the world.

00:17:53.000 Charlie, as we've talked about already, you know, my spinal cord was taken from me.

00:17:57.000 My ability to have a lot of the physical freedoms I used to enjoy was taken from me.

00:18:00.000 And so when I see people not using their bodies to their fullest extent, not enjoying life as much as they can, it frustrates me.

00:18:06.000 But you know, I see that same problem with people in their everyday lives.

00:18:10.000 You know, they don't use the God-given freedoms that they've been given by our creator, and they also don't use the freedoms that have been fought for and men and women have died for over two centuries to give them the freedom to make their voices heard in our country.

00:18:23.000 And so if you buy into that victimhood mentality, you and I are not on that same page.

00:18:27.000 We need to be victors.

00:18:29.000 We need to rise up over whatever we face in this country.

00:18:32.000 You're talking to someone who cannot walk, will be the youngest member of Congress.

00:18:35.000 All right, Madison, you're a good man.

00:18:36.000 MadisonCawthorne.com.

00:18:38.000 Everyone, thanks so much for listening.

00:18:39.000 You guys can email me, freedom at charliekirk.com, get involved.

00:18:42.000 Turning pointusa tpusa.com.

00:18:44.000 Type in Charlie Kirk show, hit subscribe, give us a five-star review screenshot or email us back, freedom at charliekirk.com.

00:18:49.000 Madison, God bless you, and thanks, everybody, for listening.

00:18:52.000 Strength and arm, Charlie.

00:18:53.000 Bye.

00:18:54.000 Thanks, man.

The Charlie Kirk Show - July 07, 2020

This 24-Year-Old Is Likely Headed to Congress. Meet Madison Cawthorn

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