One MAGA candidate’s post on X has turned into a Texas Republican civil war.
Bo French, the Republican nominee for Texas railroad commissioner, posted a photo of students celebrating a University of Texas football win on Sunday morning.
He captioned it: “I heard UT graduation this year looked like this. I didn’t believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined.”
The photograph showed a huge, diverse crowd of students, many of whom appeared to be people of color.
Texas senator John Cornyn, 74, who was defeated in a primary by President Donald Trump’s preferred candidate, the scandal-plagued Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, was appalled by the post.
“This is the Republican nominee for statewide office. Are other Republican elected officials going to condemn the intolerance and racism, or look the other way while it becomes normalized,” Cornyn, who has become a rebel within his own party, said.
“This is how great political parties self-destruct. Sad.”
French jumped on his comments, replying that “John Cornyn says we should accept decline.”
Doubling down on the implication in his previous post, he said: “Generations of Texans have invested billions of dollars into UT. Today it is filled with foreign nationals and Leftists who boo Ted Cruz...The voters I talk to want to return our institutions to serving the interests of citizens.”
Senator Ted Cruz, 55, of Texas was booed loudly at the college ball game as he appeared on ESPN’s College GameDay on Saturday in Austin.
He has not weighed in on the comments publicly and did not immediately respond to the Daily Beast.
Paxton, locked in a tight race, has not responded to Cornyn’s comments, or The Daily Beast. But his opponent Democrat James Talarico didn’t miss the opportunity to call him out.
“Thank you @JohnCornyn for your leadership. Racism has no place in Texas. @KenPaxtonTX: will you condemn this blatant racism or will you cower to extremists?” he wrote.
On X, users on both sides of the issue replied to both Cornyn and French with derisive or supportive messages.
“It’s wrong to use this photo to make that point. You have no idea what their citizenship or immigration status is. I see kids having fun and embracing Texas football culture, and that’s awesome,” one X user wrote in response to French.
“Add to the many reasons why, after a lifetime of voting Republican, I will not do so again. Reject racism always,” said another.
But there were MAGA commenters lurking in Cornyn’s replies too.
“There’s a reason you lost, traitor RINO. You’re the problem,” one wrote, referring to the acronym ‘Republican In Name Only’ often used to dismiss the opinions of Republicans disliked in MAGA circles.
“When you talk about the destruction of the party, look no further than the mirror,” said another.
The Daily Beast reached out to the Texas Republican Party, Cornyn, and French, but none immediately replied.
