Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi, D-Illinois, condemned Texas Republican Railroad Commission nominee Bo French for what he described as a “racist and xenophobic tweet targeting South Asian students at the University of Texas.” Republican lawmakers led by Senator John Cornyn, R-Texas, also blasted French for his post targeting Indian students.
They were responding after French posted photos of students celebrating a Longhorns football victory and portrayed them as evidence that Americans are being “displaced by foreigners.”
“Bo French’s xenophobic hate toward South Asian students is disgraceful and part of a broader rise in attacks targeting South Asian Americans across the country. These young people were cheering for their university, and he chose to demonize them based solely on how they look. South Asian Americans are as American as anyone, and this kind of hatred has no place in our politics or our country,” Krishnamoorthi said.
He also posted a direct response to French on Facebook.
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Cornyn, who will not be running for re-election in November, tweeted, “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. This is how great political parties self-destruct. Sad.”
Other Indian American organizations also condemned French’s post. The Indian American Advocacy Council called it a “disgusting and racist post against brown students…” The Hindu American Foundation condemned French’s tweet, while praising Sen. Jon Cornyn for criticizing the GOP candidate.