Troy Nehls calls the remarks not so pleasant and pivots to border policy
Troy NehlsUnited States representative speaking to reporters
Nehls said he did not know French and had heard he said unpleasant things, then turned to his own call to close the border for ten years.
“I don’t really know the guy. I heard he said some not so pleasant things. … I am concerned about the number of people living in this country, and we don’t even know who they really are. Shut the border down for 10 years, and then let’s try to figure out who we got in this country because we don’t even know.”
Reporting
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
Reporting
About this source
Politico report timestamped 5:00 AM ET on September 15, 2026. It states that no Republican explicitly called for French to drop out, that Dan Patrick did not respond to a request for comment, and that two students in the photo told the Dallas Morning News they are US citizens.
Before the quotation
Nehls told Politico he had not seen the posts. The exchange came as Texas Republicans were weighing how to respond.
After the quotation
The ellipsis marks intervening narration by the reporters between two parts of the quotation.
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 post. Nehls neither condemns nor defends it, saying only that he heard unpleasant things were said before moving to an immigration argument. Politico groups him with Republicans less willing to fully denounce the comments.
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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
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The Dispute Index. "Troy Nehls calls the remarks not so pleasant and pivots to border policy". First published: 2026-09-16. Last updated: 2026-09-16. https://disputeindex.com/events/745-nehls-said-he-did-not-know-french-and