Madison Cawthorn doubles down on his Ukraine attack while refusing to walk back Zelenskyy 'thug' smear

Speaking to a North Carolina men's club, Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) failed to walk back his controversial comments on Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, whom he called a "thug," and instead launched a fresh assault on embattled Ukraine as "corrupt."

Cawthorn's comments resulted in widespread criticism from Republicans and Democrats alike, and the Asheville Citizen-Times is reporting that, while he didn't apologize for or clarify his characterization of the widely-admired Ukrainian leader, he did attack Russian President Vladimir Putin as "demonically possessed."

"Speaking by phone after the March 19 Henderson County Men's Club meeting, Cawthorn said he did not see Zelenskyy and Putin as on the same level," the report states while noting that Cawthorn admitted, "There is definitely one aggressor here."

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"Cawthorn did not walk back the thug comment and again said Ukraine was 'one of the most corrupt countries.' That was because of misinformation Ukraine was spreading that could draw the U.S. into a war, he has said," the Citizen-Times' Joel Burgess wrote.

The report adds that Cawthorn suggested Putin "illegally and immorally invaded Ukraine," but he drew the line at agreeing with President Joe Biden that the Russian president is a "war criminal," adding that he "needed to better understand the legal definition" of the label.

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