RNC chair Ronna McDaniel on Sunday denied knowing what “Dark MAGA” is after Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) made an ominous post referencing the fringe online movement following his primary challenge defeat.
Appearing on Fox News, McDaniel claimed she does not know what “Dark MAGA” is when asked about Cawthorn’s threatening Instagram post.
McDaniel snarked that the term sounds like a Star Wars reference.
“It sounds like the Star Wars thing, like the dark side of the force. I don’t know,” McDaniel said. “I don’t know what that is.”
McDaniel added she thought Cawthorn was defeated in “very well fought primary” in light of a series of controversies he became embroiled in during his short-lived congressional career, causing a stir with his GOP colleagues.
McDaniel then pivoted to saying Cawthorn did “the right thing” by conceding and that Republicans “need to focus on the Democrats” heading into the midterm elections in November.
Days after his defeat last week, Cawthorn took to Instagram to proclaim that he is “on a mission” in which the ultimate goal is a “Dark MAGA” takeover.
“I am on a mission now to expose those who say and promise one thing yet legislate and work towards another, self-profiteering, globalist goal,” Cawthorn wrote. “It’s time for the rise of the new right, it’s time for Dark MAGA to truly take command.”
The so-called “Dark MAGA” movement demands former President Trump to return to power to carry out revenge on his enemies, and has recently gained popularity among some of Trump’s prominent allies. Earlier this month, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) tweeted a post that nods to the “Dark MAGA” aesthetic, which involves the dissemination of memes that often depict Trump in black and red-tinted images with laser beams coming out of his eyes.
Trump has not endorsed nor weighed in on the “Dark MAGA” movement, despite its growing popularity among prominent right-wingers.
Watch McDaniel’s remarks below:
