AUSTIN (Diya TV) — Bo French, the Republican nominee for Texas Railroad Commissioner, is facing condemnation from members of his own party after posting a photo of Indian American and South Asian University of Texas students celebrating a football win and describing them as evidence that “Americans have been displaced by foreigners.”
French posted the image Sunday, a day after the Longhorns rallied to beat Ohio State at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium in Austin. “I heard UT graduation this year looked like this,” French wrote on X. “I didn’t believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined.” In a follow-up post Monday, French wrote that “social media is exposing how many Americans have been displaced by foreigners,” and, responding to a critic, said he “weep[s] for the families in Texas who can’t get into UT because they prioritize foreigners over Texans.”
The post drew swift rebuke from Republican leaders including U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows and state Reps. Jeff Leach, Lacey Hull, Jared Patterson and Drew Darby. Cornyn wrote on X that French’s comments amounted to “intolerance and racism” and asked whether other Republicans would “look the other way while it becomes normalized,” adding, “This is how great political parties self-destruct. Sad.” Burrows said French “crossed the line,” and Darby called the conduct “unbecoming” of a Railroad Commissioner or candidate. Republican strategist Karl Rove said he would not vote for French in November. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said the photo “actually shows a way that Texans unite,” according to a statement to Politico.
French defended his post Monday on the conservative radio program “The Mark Davis Show,” dismissing his critics as “less-conservative people” tied to opponents who spent $7 million against him in the Republican primary. He did not respond to requests for comment from multiple news outlets.
UT senior Dhairya Gupta, a computer science major, and sophomore Lisa Varghese, who was seated in the same section as Gupta, spoke to reporters about French’s post. “To complain about skin color and to complain about other people ‘taking over’ UT Austin and how disappointing that is is just disgusting,” Varghese said. “It really is because I feel like football and sports are something that should be uniting.” Student Maisha Moyeen said she had initially ignored racist comments circulating under UT’s own video of the celebration, but said a candidate for statewide office repeating similar comments “takes it to a whole different level that you truly can’t ignore anymore.”
University officials did not name French directly but issued statements Monday night responding to the reaction over his post. Kevin Eltife, chairman of the UT System Board of Regents, said that from the sidelines Saturday night he “saw Longhorns” in “the seats filled with incredible fans.” UT President Jim Davis said the university’s students were exceptional and “all of them are Longhorns.” UT did not respond to a request for further comment.
This is not the first time French has faced criticism over similar remarks. As Tarrant County Republican Party chair, he resisted calls to resign after a post describing Muslims and Jews as a threat to the United States, and he has called for the deportation of 100 million people, a figure that would include U.S. citizens. He has also referred to Native Americans as “third world savages” who should be deported.
Following the UT post, French’s odds on the prediction market Kalshi fell about 10 percentage points, from 72% Sunday morning. The Railroad Commission oversees Texas’s oil and gas industry and has no jurisdiction over railroads.
