In response to Zohran Mamdani, a Muslim, winning the Democratic primary in the New York City mayor’s race, French tweeted a poll to X that asked, “Who is a bigger threat to America?” The options listed were “Jews” and “Muslims.” The poll has since been deleted.
It took a few days for French’s comments to receive a response, but eventually, Lt. Gov, Dan Patrick took to his own social media account to condemn the rhetoric.
“Bo French’s words do not reflect my values nor the values of the Republican Party. Antisemitism and religious bigotry have no place in Texas,” Patrick said before calling for French’s resignation as county chairman.
Patrick’s acknowledgment of French’s X poll opened the floodgates for Texas Republicans to denounce the far-right party leader. U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, state Sen. Tan Parker, U.S. Rep. Craig Goldman, Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker and Dallas City Council member Cara Mendelsohn were among the elected officials who joined the rebuking.
Parker referred to French’s post as “bigoted and antisemitic.” Goldman said, “As a 5th generation Jewish American, I know what anti-semitism looks like,” in response to the poll. Tarrant County Commissioner Manny Ramirez called the poll question “hateful” and “antisemitic.” State Rep. Giovanni Capriglione, who represents parts of Grapevine, Keller and Southlake, referred to the chairman as “Bo ‘all I do is tweet and hate’ French.”
While many of the officials called attention to the antisemitic nature of French’s tweet, the Observer was unable to find an example of a Republican elected official directly acknowledging the other group French targeted.
“They didn’t really condemn the Islamophobic nature of the poll,” Shaimaa Zayan, operations manager for the Austin branch of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), said. “That was kind of expected at this point, though.”
The response to French’s tweet left Zayan with “mixed feelings.” While she was glad to see a figure who has repeatedly targeted her community called out, the lack of acknowledgement for the Muslim community harmed by French’s rhetoric left her feeling as if CAIR is the only voice advocating for Muslim Texans.
A Line Drawn Between Conservatives and Muslims
At least 420,000 Muslims are living in Texas today, slightly more than 1% of the state’s population, according to the Texas Almanac. It’s a group that makes up a small percentage of the state’s constituency, and Zayan feels the recent actions of Republican leaders across the state make it clear that the interests of Muslims are not being taken into account by the conservative party.Take the targeted investigations launched by state leaders into the Collin County EPIC City development, which could offer homes, schools and worship centers to Muslims. State leaders like Sen. Cornyn have accused the development of operating under “sharia law,” and even as the Department of Justice opened and then closed an investigation into the development in late June, five state investigations launched by Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton remain pending.
Then there are French’s repeated attacks on the Muslim community that have been more or less allowed to fly unchecked.
For months, French has peddled an unfounded conspiracy that “radical Islamists" are invading Tarrant County. The chairman has shared racist caricature images of Salman Bhojani, a Muslim state representative from Euless; French has called the Islamic faith “antithetical” to American values and encouraged Republican leaders to pass a ban on the religion; on June 25, responding to a comment about white women supporting Mamdani in the New York City mayoral race, French replied that “some” women “fantasize about the Muslim rape gangs.”“I invite [Texas’ Republican leaders] to meet me personally. I invite them to share a meal, and I invite them to visit my mosque. I think they’d find many more commonalities than differences.” - Shaimaa Zayan, Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR)
tweet this
After Patrick’s initial call for French to resign from his seat, French posted an apology in which he claimed members of the Jewish religion were not the real target of his poll. Muslims were.
“When your own people are asking you to step down, it means you’ve been so radicalized you don’t represent the mainstream opinion anymore,” Zayan said. “[That apology] was a pathetic attempt by Bo French to keep his seat.”
But it may have worked.
The Tarrant County GOP Executive Committee has yet to comment on French’s rhetoric, and it is that committee that would have to vote on a resolution ruling that French is no longer eligible for office, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reports. While state leaders can do their best to call attention to French’s offensive language, his removal, unless he decides to step down, is up to leaders within the local party.
Speaking Out Against Hate
In Dallas, one of the most outspoken leaders against French was Mendelsohn, who is Jewish. As the denunciations of French began to roll in last weekend, Mendelsohn responded to several elected leaders to thank them for standing up to the antisemitism French displayed.“The answer to [Bo French’s] question is clear — he and his disgusting Jew-hatred are the biggest threat to the Republican Party,” Mendelsohn posted several times. “Thank you for standing up to this bully. It is past time for new leadership in the Tarrant County GOP.”
In later tweets, Mendelsohn also pointed out that Muslims were a target of the poll. Still, her concerns largely revolved around French’s labeling of Jewish people as a “threat” at a time when antisemitism in the United States is growing. According to the Anti-Defamation League, incidents of antisemitic harassment, vandalism and assault in the United States have skyrocketed in the years since the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, rising 893% compared with a decade ago. In 2024, 9,354 incidents of antisemitism were recorded by the organization nationally.
Thank you Lt Gov @DanPatrick for speaking up against this bully.
— Cara Mendelsohn 🟦 (@caraathome) June 28, 2025
The answer to @BoFrenchTX's question is clear - he and his disgusting Jew-hatred are the biggest threat to the Republican Party. It is past time for new leadership in Tarrant County GOP. https://t.co/vlNCMWTeiR
According to CAIR, anti-Muslim discrimination is also on the rise. In 2024, 8,658 complaints of discrimination were filed with CAIR, the highest number since the organization began recording complaints for an annual civil rights report in 1996. Zayan noted that Iranian, Palestinian and Muslim refugee communities have experienced an especially “heightened sense of fear” in recent months as cultural perceptions of those groups shift in response to politics and events in the Middle East.
The Observer asked Mendelsohn whether or not she believes Republican officials should have more directly condemned the Islamophobic component of French’s tweet, but she did not respond to our request for comment. Mendelsohn also did not respond to a request to clarify the meaning behind her June 28 tweet that reads “[New York] isn’t what it used to be,” in response to a Dallas Express story about Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson’s reaction to Mamdani winning the New York City primary.
CAIR has joined the calls for French’s removal, fully condemning both the antisemitic and Islamophobic nature of the post. The organization has accused the chairman of sowing division between Muslim and Jewish Texans at a time when both groups “are facing heightened threats across the country.”
For Zayan, French’s tweet was an opportunity for Republican state leaders to make a gesture of support toward Muslims across Texas. Now, the opportunity may be passed.
“We are not a threat. We are not here to take over,” said Zayan. “I invite [Texas Republican leaders] to meet me personally. I invite them to share a meal, and I invite them to visit my mosque. I think they’d find many more commonalities than differences.”
