Bo French's bigoted tweet after a football game is part of a long and ugly pattern.
By
Karl Rove
Sept. 16, 2026 5:20 pm ET
It was a moment every student in Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium will remember for life. Forty-one seconds into the final quarter on Saturday, No. 4 ranked University of Texas at Austin was down 23-3 against No. 1 ranked Ohio State. Quarterback Arch Manning brought the Longhorns alive with a 91-yard drive that ended with a touchdown pass to wide receiver Ryan Wingo. That cut the margin to 13. And the Longhorns weren't done.
Mr. Manning picked apart Ohio State's defense with a 72-yard drive followed by a 73-yard drive, each ending with running back Hollywood Smothers scoring. Texas went up 24-23.
The Buckeyes had 25 seconds on the clock, time enough for their explosive offense. But Texas held, leaving Ohio one second to try for a miracle with a long bomb. That's when Longhorn defensive back Graceson Littleton made the interception, the clock ran out, the cannon boomed, and the stadium went wild.
So how did Bo Frencha UT grad and Republican statewide candidate for Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates the oil and gas industrymark this special moment?
He posted a picture of screaming, joyous, celebrating burnt-orange-clad students. Referring to students who appeared to be South Asian or Hispanic in the photo's foreground, he declared, "I heard UT graduation this year looked like this. I didn't believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined."
Mr. French's not-so-subtle claim that UT has too many Hispanics and South Asianshe later said his issue is too many "foreigners"is raw, uncut bigotry. UT admissions are based on merit, not race, and 90% of each class comes from Texas.
Some Republican leaders immediately denounced Mr. French. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn condemned his "intolerance and racism," warning "this is how great political parties self-destruct."
State House Speaker Dustin Burrows said Mr. French's post "crossed the line" by "demeaning people because of their race or ethnicity." Other GOP state legislators called the post "racism, plain and simple," "disgusting" and "well below the standard set by Christ." One said it made him "sick."
A few Republicans defended Mr. French. One lawmaker reposted an X post asserting that "anyone telling you to stay home or pull support from Bo is an enemy who supports gay race communism." Another said Republicans criticizing Mr. French were "contemptible."
This isn't the first time Mr. French has made bigoted comments. When the wife of an Asian-American Democratic state representative posted on X a picture of herself and their children visiting him on the floor of the House chamber, Mr. French responded, "Families deported together stay together."
Mr. French also has problems with non-Christians. In 2025, as Tarrant County Republican chairman, he posted a poll on X: "Who is a bigger threat to America?" The choices were "Jews" or "Muslims." Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called for his "immediate resignation," and the Republican mayor of Fort Worth, the county's biggest city, lamented there are "too many examples" of Mr. French's "bigotry and hate."
Mr. French also has issues with women. When Kamala Harris posted a 2024 campaign plea on X to "trust" women "to make decisions about their own body, health care, and future," he responded, "There are just some things where you can't trust women." He has also opined that "no one hates themselves more than educated white women. This hatred drives them to hate everything else too."
When I came to Texas in December 1976, the state was so blue that you could almost hold a GOP state convention in a phone booth. After elections that year, there were 18 Republicans in the 150-seat House and three in the 31-seat Senate. We'd gone over a century without electing a Republican governor.
Republicans turned Texas red by fielding candidates who understood the strength of our state's diverse population and welcomed voters who shared our conservative values.
The GOP has a growing number of Bo Frenchesand not only in Texas. Conservatism and the party it dominates have an increasing number of bigoted advocates of a "heritage America" composed of white descendants of the original European settlers. There are "just asking questions" Jew-haters, misogynists who worship hypermasculinity, conspiracy nuts seeking clicks for profit, and religious bigots who won't differentiate between Muslim terrorists and Muslim American patriots.
These people are diminishing the Republican Party, not building it. I'll have no part of it. This November, I'll vote for only the second Democrat in my life. The first was Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock in 1994, because I thought he would work with Republicans. The second will be Mr. French's opponent, Jon Rosenthal. The GOP's stables need a cleaning. This is a good place to start.
Mr. Rove was senior adviser and deputy chief of staff for President George W. Bush and is author of "The Triumph of William McKinley" (Simon & Schuster, 2015).
By
Karl Rove
Sept. 16, 2026 5:20 pm ET
It was a moment every student in Darrell K. Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium will remember for life. Forty-one seconds into the final quarter on Saturday, No. 4 ranked University of Texas at Austin was down 23-3 against No. 1 ranked Ohio State. Quarterback Arch Manning brought the Longhorns alive with a 91-yard drive that ended with a touchdown pass to wide receiver Ryan Wingo. That cut the margin to 13. And the Longhorns weren't done.
Mr. Manning picked apart Ohio State's defense with a 72-yard drive followed by a 73-yard drive, each ending with running back Hollywood Smothers scoring. Texas went up 24-23.
The Buckeyes had 25 seconds on the clock, time enough for their explosive offense. But Texas held, leaving Ohio one second to try for a miracle with a long bomb. That's when Longhorn defensive back Graceson Littleton made the interception, the clock ran out, the cannon boomed, and the stadium went wild.
So how did Bo Frencha UT grad and Republican statewide candidate for Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates the oil and gas industrymark this special moment?
He posted a picture of screaming, joyous, celebrating burnt-orange-clad students. Referring to students who appeared to be South Asian or Hispanic in the photo's foreground, he declared, "I heard UT graduation this year looked like this. I didn't believe it. The problem is now obviously far worse than anyone imagined."
Mr. French's not-so-subtle claim that UT has too many Hispanics and South Asianshe later said his issue is too many "foreigners"is raw, uncut bigotry. UT admissions are based on merit, not race, and 90% of each class comes from Texas.
Some Republican leaders immediately denounced Mr. French. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn condemned his "intolerance and racism," warning "this is how great political parties self-destruct."
State House Speaker Dustin Burrows said Mr. French's post "crossed the line" by "demeaning people because of their race or ethnicity." Other GOP state legislators called the post "racism, plain and simple," "disgusting" and "well below the standard set by Christ." One said it made him "sick."
A few Republicans defended Mr. French. One lawmaker reposted an X post asserting that "anyone telling you to stay home or pull support from Bo is an enemy who supports gay race communism." Another said Republicans criticizing Mr. French were "contemptible."
This isn't the first time Mr. French has made bigoted comments. When the wife of an Asian-American Democratic state representative posted on X a picture of herself and their children visiting him on the floor of the House chamber, Mr. French responded, "Families deported together stay together."
Mr. French also has problems with non-Christians. In 2025, as Tarrant County Republican chairman, he posted a poll on X: "Who is a bigger threat to America?" The choices were "Jews" or "Muslims." Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called for his "immediate resignation," and the Republican mayor of Fort Worth, the county's biggest city, lamented there are "too many examples" of Mr. French's "bigotry and hate."
Mr. French also has issues with women. When Kamala Harris posted a 2024 campaign plea on X to "trust" women "to make decisions about their own body, health care, and future," he responded, "There are just some things where you can't trust women." He has also opined that "no one hates themselves more than educated white women. This hatred drives them to hate everything else too."
When I came to Texas in December 1976, the state was so blue that you could almost hold a GOP state convention in a phone booth. After elections that year, there were 18 Republicans in the 150-seat House and three in the 31-seat Senate. We'd gone over a century without electing a Republican governor.
Republicans turned Texas red by fielding candidates who understood the strength of our state's diverse population and welcomed voters who shared our conservative values.
The GOP has a growing number of Bo Frenchesand not only in Texas. Conservatism and the party it dominates have an increasing number of bigoted advocates of a "heritage America" composed of white descendants of the original European settlers. There are "just asking questions" Jew-haters, misogynists who worship hypermasculinity, conspiracy nuts seeking clicks for profit, and religious bigots who won't differentiate between Muslim terrorists and Muslim American patriots.
These people are diminishing the Republican Party, not building it. I'll have no part of it. This November, I'll vote for only the second Democrat in my life. The first was Lt. Gov. Bob Bullock in 1994, because I thought he would work with Republicans. The second will be Mr. French's opponent, Jon Rosenthal. The GOP's stables need a cleaning. This is a good place to start.
Mr. Rove was senior adviser and deputy chief of staff for President George W. Bush and is author of "The Triumph of William McKinley" (Simon & Schuster, 2015).
