A three-sentence tweet from a state-level candidate has sparked a nationwide uproar about racism in the Republican Party.
A conservative U.S. senator, an MS NOW panel, a rising star in the Democratic Party, and a host of local GOP politicians publicly spoke out against a comment from the Republican nominee for Texas Railroad Commissioner on Sunday.
“Are other Republican elected officials going to condemn the intolerance and racism, or look the other way while it becomes normalized?” asked Texas Sen. John Cornyn. “This is how great political parties self-destruct.”
The comment in question came from Bo French, who shared a picture of what appears to be a screenshot of celebrating students at a Texas Longhorns football game.
“I heard UT graduation this year looked like this,” Bo French wrote on X. “I didn’t believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined.”
French later replied to Cornyn’s commendation by doubling down on his race-based rhetoric.
“Generations of Texans have invested billions of dollars into UT,” French wrote. “Today it is filled with foreign nationals and Leftists who boo Ted Cruz. John Cornyn says we should accept decline.”
State Rep. James Talarico, running for the U.S. Senate in Texas, thanked Cornyn for speaking out against French and called on his competitor, Attorney General Ken Paxton, to do the same.
“Racism has no place in Texas,” Talarico wrote. “Will you condemn this blatant racism or will you cower to extremists?”
Paxton’s campaign did not immediately condemn the post online or respond to a request for comment from the Texas Tribune, which reported the Republican Senate nominee has supported French’s campaign and claimed he would make “a great Railroad Commissioner.”
Other local Republicans were outraged.
State Rep. Jared Patterson (R-TX) joined his colleague across the aisle in condemning French’s remarks with a lengthy statement.
“This is racist. It is wrong. And I condemn it without reservation,” he wrote. “There is absolutely nothing Christian or conservative about looking at a crowd of young Texans at a college football game, seeing the color of their skin, and declaring that they are a ‘problem.’”
State Rep. Jeff Leach (R-TX) posted a picture of his son Brady at the game in question.
“Bo thinks it’s a ‘problem’ they don’t all look like and have the same skin color as Brady,” Leach wrote. “I think that’s racist — and it makes me sick.”
“Please delete this,” begged state Rep. Lacey Hull (R-TX). “This post breaks my heart. I see college kids cheering on their football team. I see Texans.”
MS NOW host Antonia Hylton devoted an entire segment to her concerns about the rising number of conservative campaign scandals linked to Nazi rhetoric, misogynistic commentary and Ku Klux Klan attire.
Molly Jong Fast argued Cornyn was correct in his warning that the conservative party might self-destruct, calling it a “leopards-eating-faces scenario.”
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