Overview
- The Daily Mail republished a 2001 poem titled “Hungover From Burgundy” that Eric Swalwell wrote at age 19 for Campbell University’s literary magazine, The Lyricist.
- The poem describes a hotel tryst with biting and graphic imagery, including lines about “kissing till veins imploded and exploded” and “blood rolled down our chins.”
- Swalwell’s team brushed off the rediscovered writing, with a spokesperson joking to outlets that his childhood diary was worse, and the congressman echoed the quip on social media.
- Mediaite reported the poem reached the Daily Mail via conservative filmmaker Joel Gilbert, who has said he is actively working against Swalwell’s campaign.
- The resurfacing comes as the seven-term congressman runs for governor; coverage also revisits his past contact with Christine Fang, which led to a 2015 defensive briefing and a 2023 House Ethics review that took no action.