President Joe Biden is facing an onslaught of criticism for the botched withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, which reached a devastating crescendo on Thursday when terrorists detonated a series of bombs near the Kabul International Airport, where thousands of Afghan allies had gathered in hopes of escaping Taliban rule. Nearly 100 Afghans and at least 13 Americans service members were killed in the blasts.
In a press conference shortly after the attack, Biden took responsibility for the diplomatic miscalculations that marred the withdrawal, offered condolences to the families of those who were killed, and vowed to the perpetrators that the United States "will hunt you down and make you pay."
Far-right Congressman Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina joined the chorus of outraged Republicans calling for Biden to step down or be removed from office.
He specifically called on Vice President Kamala Harris to begin rallying cabinet members to invoke the 25th Amendment, which sidelines a President when their Vice President and a majority of the cabinet secretaries revoke confidence in the President's ability to lead.
Cawthorn's office misspelled the Vice President's name as "Kamela."
GOP Rep. Madison Cawthorn sent a letter to VP Kamala Harris, cc'd to the rest of the presidential line of successio… https://t.co/sZr00Hv8Ce— Andrew Solender (@Andrew Solender) 1630024668.0
The bizarre letter reads in part:
"It brings me no pleasure to report this, but I have become increasingly convinced of what you already know, President Biden is no longer capable of discharging the duties of his office. ... If we, those kindly disposed to our country and its defenders take notice, what will our adversaries and rivals say? Surely, they are awaiting opportunities to exploit this executive-level vulnerability both interpersonally and in their propaganda. America, the best hope of the world, cannot afford a weakness so obvious and glaring. To ask Americans to refuse the obvious evidence of their eyes is a mistake."
The rambling letter then goes on to inexplicably quote Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson for an entire paragraph.
Though Cawthorn may have strained himself trying to sound like a statesman, the letter was widely mocked on social media.
are we in a VEEP episode rn 😭😭😭 https://t.co/lLKyKQwJZW— pillow princess (@pillow princess) 1630072112.0
it always takes me out lmao 🤣 https://t.co/R5dYio7sfu https://t.co/FASkRSXW5u— jonny 🙇🏽♂️ (@jonny 🙇🏽♂️) 1630026682.0
I love the randomly placed “such as it was” https://t.co/RnJENtF3sd https://t.co/2W8zse0qVF— leyla (@leyla) 1630074813.0
My ribs are absolutely aching from laughing at how the quote from Treasure Island is deployed https://t.co/gWo2EWdCMe— AK Lingus (@AK Lingus) 1630074198.0
The typos were glaring.
While misspelling her name as “Kamela”and addressing her by the French “Madame” [as in Bovary] Vice President rathe… https://t.co/xTjDcYiDBi— Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (@Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi) 1630025601.0
He spelled her name wrong and her title wrong. https://t.co/tiDSmf3qV3— Mehdi Hasan (@Mehdi Hasan) 1630027527.0
Oh my god, he misspelled her name. You can’t make this stuff up. #nc11 https://t.co/ZPwD8bi9VI— Callie (@Callie) 1630026127.0
The Vice President hasn't indicated plans to respond.