Republican Bo French’s racist X post about Longhorn fans earns rebukes from Texas Republicans

Do you know how bad you have to be to get Karl Rove (KARL ROVE!) to vote for a Democrat?

Just ask Republican Bo French.

As the Texas Longhorns completed their epic comeback victory over the Ohio State Buckeyes this past Saturday, a fan taking video from the fan section panned around to show a sea of cheering fans who went nuts, as anyone might expect.

What French did not expect, apparently, was to see a grouping of Texas fans, all donning burnt orange, who were not White.

The Republican nominee for Texas Railroad Commissioner, a position that regulates oil and gas production in the state, took a screenshot and posted it to X with the caption, “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 Republican’s implication, which he later spelled out in a reply, was that these students were “foreigners” who were stealing the opportunity from “families in Texas” who would love to attend UT-Austin but can’t because “they prioritize foreigners over Texans.”

Not only is that not true, but the blatant racist dogwhistle in a moment that was meant to unite Texas fans struck a nerve, including with some of the biggest Republican names in the state.

“A selective picture of Longhorn fans celebrating our biggest home victory – ever – actually shows a way that Texans unite,” Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement.

“This breaks my heart,” wrote Lacey Hull, a Republican state representative who said the post should be deleted. “I see college kids cheering on their football team. I see Texans.”

“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?” said Republican Texas Senator John Cornyn. “This is how great political parties self-destruct. Sad.”

And then there’s Rove, a former adviser to President George W. Bush and longtime Texas GOP political consultant. According to the Texas Tribune, Rove said he will vote for Democrat Jon Rosenthal, who is running against French, telling an audience at the Headliners Club in Austin that French is a “bigot.”

Sadly for French, all of this is nothing new. Despite attempting to be elected to oversee the state’s gas and oil industries, he’s spent much of his time on the campaign trail messaging about culture wars, immigration, and non-Christians.

The only major Republican who appears to still publicly support French and his racist worldview is President Donald Trump, who ripped Rove over his comments.

Two of the students in the screenshot, Dhairya Gupta and Rahul Kodali, both U.S. citizens, slammed French in an interview with The Dallas Morning News.

“Whether or not we are immigrants, that doesn’t change anything,” Kodali said. “I’ve been an American my entire life.”