Donald Trump calls 24-year-old Republican underdog to congratulate him on winning House primary - as it's revealed he was left paralyzed from waist down after car accident at 18 (10 Pics)
President Donald Trump called the paralyzed 24-year-old Republican candidate who won an upset primary victory Tuesday in the race for his chief of staff's House seat .
Madison Cawthorn beat real estate agent Lynda Bennett to win the Republican nomination for Mark Meadow's seat.
She had endorsements from Trump - who threw his support to her in a June 4 tweet - in addition to those of Meadows, Senator Ted Cruz and Congressman Jim Jordan.
Trump also had recorded a robocall for Bennett and her loss ended his streak of Republican primary endorsements victories, which is something he has bragged about.
Cawthorn told MSNBC's 'Morning Joe' on Wednesday morning that Trump called him from Air Force One Tuesday night as the president was returning from a trip to Arizona.
'He congratulated me. He was talking about how amazing of a victory it was. He defined it as beautiful, you know. Just talking about how impressive it was that we were able to overcome just so many large obstacles that we did,' Cawthorn said.
'I believe, you know, the president recognized that we ran a campaign that was very difficult to beat and also that we are someone who can really help ease this partisan divide that's going on in our country right now and help bring a lot of our voters together,' he said.
Madison Cawthorn worked for Mark Meadows in his congressional office and has made it clear he supports President Trump
President Trump had endorsed Cawthorn's primary opponent but called him from Air Force One Tuesday night to congratulate him on his win
Celebration: Madison Cawthorn celebrated his surprise victory with supporters on Tuesday night
Bennett outraised him in addition to outgunning him with big name supporters. But Cawthorn prevailed, winning two-thirds of the vote.
If elected, he will be the youngest member of Congress. He faces Democrat Moe Davis, a former military prosecutor, in November. Republicans are favored to hold on to the seat.
Cawthorn turns turns 25 in August, which is the constitutionally mandated age to be eligible to serve in the House of Representatives.
He made it clear he does not believe his victory indicated a diminished influence by the president on Republican voters.
'I want to make something clear,' he said in an election night statement. 'I support our great president. I do not believe this election has been a referendum on the president's influence. The people of western North Carolina are wise and discerning. You observed both candidates and simply made the choice you believed is best for our district.'
Cawthorn said he has not yet heard from Meadows, who left his House seat to become Trump's chief of staff. Cawthorn has described Meadows as a mentor and worked in his North Carolina congressional office as a district staffer.
In 2013, Meadows nominated Cawthorn to the U.S. Naval Academy. But Cawthorn's educational plans changed in the spring of 2014, when he nearly died in a serious car accident in Florida.
He was left partially paralyzed and uses a wheelchair. The medical bills left him $3 million in debt at the age of 18.
Cawthorn told the North State Journal last month that, after the accident, he 'felt pretty worthless' and 'got in a pretty dark spot.'
But, when he was attending a Meadows victory party, the congressman got on his knees so he could look at Cawthorn eye-to-eye and asked him to come work for him.
Cawthorn said that made him realize: 'I can still do this.'
He also said he believed Bennett racked up so many big name Republican endorsements because she is good friends with Meadows' wife Debbie.
'She [Bennett] is notoriously the best friend of Debbie Meadows. So I believe Congressman Mark Meadows is doing a favor to his wife, and that's why she received these endorsements,' he told the North Carolina newspaper.
Madison Cawthorn won by a roughly 2-to-1 margin Tuesday despite his opponent outspending him
President Donald Trump called Madison Cawthorn, the paralyzed 24-year-old Republican candidate who won an upset primary victory
Lynda Bennett had endorsements from President Trump and Mark Meadows, whose House seat she and Madison Cawthorn were competing for
President Trump endorsed Lynda Bennett in this June 4 tweet; her loss ended his streak of Republican primary endorsements victories, which is something he has bragged about
He later left Meadow's office to work in real estate and become a motivational speaker.
Cawthorn was returning from a Spring Break trip to Florida in 2014 when his friend fell asleep at the wheel of their SUV and plowed into a concrete road barrier. Cawthorn was flown to a trauma center in Daytona Beach.
'I wake up and I can't move my legs. All I see is my family around me, looking at me with nothing but pity,' he told the Washington Examiner, adding he realized: 'Wow, I'm really messed up, whatever's going on.'
Cawthorn had been laying back in the SUV with his legs up when they crashed and his spine was snapped in the accident. He also shattered his ankle, broke his pelvis, and lost a kidney. Additionally, his internal organs were pushed up into his chest, crushing his lungs.
He recovered in a Florida hospital for several weeks and then went to a hospital in Atlanta that specialized in spinal injuries.
'When my accident happened, I had spent my entire life building my athletic ability, building my mental ability, making sure I could pass any tests I was ever given,' Cawthorn told the newspaper.
He had earned a full-ride ROTC scholarship from the U.S. Marine Corps, which he planned to join after graduating from the Naval Academy.
'I was the No. 1 pick in the whole nation. I had it all,' he said.
His accident and recovery were closely followed in his home town of Henderson and throughout the 11th congressional district, where his family has roots going back to the Revolutionary War.
White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, pictured, backed his friend Lynda Bennett to replace him in the the 11th Congressional District primary in North Carolina
Cawthorn will now face Democrat Moe Davis, a former military prosecutor, pictured, in the November general election
Cawthorn finished behind Bennett in a 12-person Republican primary in March, but no candidate won enough votes to avoid a runoff. The two advanced to Tuesday's election, which was originally scheduled for May but was delayed by the coronavirus pandemic.
He campaigned emphasizing his conservative credentials and painted himself as a new generation of GOP leadership to counter young, progressive Democratic stars like Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
