Texas Republicans including U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, one-time gubernatorial hopeful Dan Huffines and even the mayor of a Dallas suburb have tweeted praise for Giorgia Meloni, the far-right politician recently elected Italy’s new prime minister.
Meloni and her Brothers of Italy Party took power in an election on Sunday. Although the far-right, anti-immigrant, and anti-LGBTQ political movement’s origins derive from fascist dictator Benito Mussolini’s reign, it didn’t stop Texas GOP members from celebrating the triumph of Italy’s first far-right government since World War II.
Following Sunday’s release of the election results, Huffines —a former state senator — issued a press release describing Meloni, Italy’s first woman prime minister, as a “cultural warrior.” He also compared her favorably to Hungarian autocrat Victor Orban — another favorite among U.S. conservatives.
“The Italians have unearthed their swords of liberty; now, the global elitists are truly scared,” Huffines wrote. “The plan for a one-world government just got a little more complicated.”
Cruz also joined in the adulation, retweeting a clip of one of Meloni’s speeches, where the far-right leader vows to “defend God, country and family.”
It’s unclear whether Texas’ junior senator is aware that the phrase used by Meloni is the same mantra of Mussolini’s National Fascist Party. Nonetheless, Cruz shared the tweet, simply writing “spectacular.”
John Huffman, mayor of the Dallas suburb of Southlake, also retweeted the same clip, adding that he’s “never heard any politician so perfectly explain what we’re up against.”
When Huffman was subsequently called out on Twitter by Fort Worth Star-Telegram columnist Bud Kennedy, the Southlake Mayor responded by labeling his Twitter critics “trolls.”
The Republicans’ praise for Meloni comes after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, whom some have described as neo-nazi, received a standing ovation at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Dallas over the summer.
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This article appears in Sep 21 – Oct 4, 2022.
