Trump says Madison Cawthorn made 'some foolish mistakes' but deserves 'a second chance' to serve in Congress

• Embattled Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn faces a potentially difficult primary election on Tuesday.
• But Trump says he deserves a "second chance" despite the 26-year-old's "foolish mistakes."

Republican Rep. Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina secured the endorsement of former President Donald Trump amid a growing list of scandals that threaten to imperil the 26-year-old congressman's nascent political career.

"When Madison was first elected to Congress, he did a great job," Trump wrote in a message on Truth Social, his fledgling, Twitter-alternative social media platform. "Recently, he made some foolish mistakes, which I don't believe he'll make again ... let's give Madison a second chance!"

Trump's somewhat tepid endorsement of Cawthorn stands in stark contrast to a series of "Complete and Total" endorsement statements he's released in recent days for other North Carolina Republicans, including Reps. Patrick McHenry, David Rouzer, Richard Hudson and Dan Bishop.

The former president didn't elaborate on Cawthorn's shortcomings. The freshman congressman has recently seemed to spark a new controversy every week, attempting to bring guns onto planes, potentially engaging insider trading, insinuating that his colleagues participate in cocaine-fueled orgies, and having a nude video leaked by a rival PAC.

Trump also gave a nod to the 2014 car accident that left Cawthorn paralyzed from the waist down, calling it a "life changing event" and "traumatic experience" that few will ever experience.

—Meridith McGraw (@meridithmcgraw) May 16, 2022

The endorsement comes just a day before Cawthorn is set to face Republican voters in the state's Tuesday primaries. He faces a particularly strong challenge from state Sen. Chuck Edwards, who has the backing of Republican Sen. Thom Tillis, the state's junior senator.

"I believe that people in the mountains are tired of the political rhetoric," Edwards told Insider's Camila deChalus in a recent interview. "They're tired of the grandstanding and they're looking for someone to go to Washington, DC, fight off the establishment, roll up their sleeves, and actually go to work."

Voters in Cawthorn's district have also grown tired of the antics, and former campaign volunteers have even turned on him.

"He fooled the hell out of everybody," Bruce Rose, a former campaign volunteer, told Insider. "I despise him … he is a criminal and a performer."