John Cornyn says French doubled down and fundraised instead of apologising
John CornynUnited States senator posting on his own account
Cornyn said French had neither removed the post nor apologised but had instead fundraised off it, called the post bigotry directed at fellow Texans, and warned Republicans they would become a minority party.
“We all make mistakes but what does he do? No takedown of offensive post, no apology. Just doubles down and raises $ using it. The Republican Party is better than this. We should all condemn this bigotry directed at our fellow Texans or we will soon find ourselves a minority party.”
Original post
Other statements by John Cornyn in this case
Every statement by John Cornyn
Where this statement fits
Was Bo French’s UT Austin post racist?
After the University of Texas football team’s September 12, 2026 comeback win over Ohio State, Republican Railroad Commission nominee Bo French posted a still image of apparent South Asian fans and called what it showed a “problem.” He later said social media was exposing Americans being displaced by foreigners and accused UT of prioritizing foreigners over Texans. French and several supporters framed the posts as a legitimate criticism of immigration and admissions policy. Republican and Democratic officials, along with other commentators, condemned the use of the fans’ appearance as racist or xenophobic. Governor Greg Abbott rejected French’s interpretation of the image while reaffirming support for restrictive immigration policies.
Source and context
Original post
About this source
Post published 9:36 AM ET on September 15, 2026. It quote-posts Bo French's September 14 fundraising appeal, which is the conduct Cornyn is describing.
Before the quotation
Cornyn had already condemned the original post on September 13. This post quotes French's September 14 fundraising appeal, which is the doubling down it describes.
After the quotation
Politico reported the same day that no Republican had explicitly called for French to leave the race.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The conduct under scrutiny is French's UT fan post. Cornyn calls it offensive bigotry and criticises French's response to the backlash, condemning the conduct directly.
- Recorded on
- Published here
- People and groups discussed
- Bo French
More from this case
Read the full caseRosenthal calls donations a rejection of French
“The people are rejecting this bold, racist campaign of his.”Read statement
Krishnamoorthi calls French’s UT fan post a xenophobic attack
“The Department of Education seems to be playing dog whistles to Bo French’s tune just days after his xenophobic attack on South Asian students for cheering for their own college football team. South Asian Americans are as American as anyone.”Read statement
French says his UT fan posts were about culture, not race
“It’s fair to say that Texas doesn’t look and feel like it did when I was a kid, and that’s not racist.”Read statement
Share or embed this statement
The embed keeps its attribution link to The Dispute Index. Credit the image to The Dispute Index and link to the statement page.
Cite this record
- Publisher
- The Dispute Index
- Title
- John Cornyn says French doubled down and fundraised instead of apologising
- First published
- Last updated
- Permalink
- https://disputeindex.com/events/737-cornyn-said-french-had-neither-removed-the-post
Last updated marks the most recent saved version of this published statement.
The Dispute Index. "John Cornyn says French doubled down and fundraised instead of apologising". First published: 2026-09-16. Last updated: 2026-09-16. https://disputeindex.com/events/737-cornyn-said-french-had-neither-removed-the-post