A delightful scene erupted Saturday night at Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin, where the Texas Longhorns completed a thrilling comeback to defeat the top-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes in a huge college football showdown. But one Texas politician wasn't so pleased watching from his television screen.
Bo French, the Republican nominee for Texas Railroad Commissioner, shared on social media a picture of the crowd early Sunday morning. The photo featured a collection of students celebrating in the crowd either late in the fourth quarter or just after the final whistle, with many of the students appearing to be of South Asian descent. That didn't sit well with French.
"I heard UT graduation this year looked like this," French wrote. "I didn't believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined."
In the comments, French remarked that students like those in the photo who appear to be South Asian are being prioritized by admissions as "foreigners over Texans." French doubled down an hour later, posting the same photo and writing "like body-cams exposed criminals, social media is exposing how many Americans have been displaced by foreigners. It's everywhere and far worse than any of us could imagine."
Sunday morning was far from French's first foray into xenophobia and anti-Indian rhetoric. In March, the former Tarrant County GOP chair said he views Islam as a problem that will "infiltrate" and "conquer" Texas, and he called for the deportation of American Muslims. His prior remarks drew condemnation from a collection of Texas GOP members, and on Sunday, a prominent Republican blasted French.
"This is the Republican nominee for statewide office," outgoing Sen. John Cornyn wrote Sunday in a post on X. "Are other Republican elected officials going to condemn the intolerance and racism, or look the other way while it becomes normalized. This is how great political parties self-destruct. Sad."
Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows called on French to delete his post on Sunday, as did state Reps. Jeff Leach and Lacey Hull. French didn't appear bothered by Cornyn on any Republican criticism, as he clapped back on X shortly after Cornyn's post.
"Our state's institutions have been overrun by illegal aliens and foreign nationals because of RINOs like John Cornyn who have cheered for them over our own citizens," French wrote. "He and the other America Last losers are mad that Texas Republicans are starting to put America First."
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This article originally published at Bo French blasted by John Cornyn for xenophobic social media post.