Despite growing calls for his resignation after he set up an online poll asking whether Jews or Muslims present the biggest threat to the U.S., Tarrant County GOP Chair Bo French appears have tripled down on the offensive post, which the Current was first to report on.
Over the weekend, French fired off new tweets calling LGBTQ+ people “degenerates” and re-sharing a social media post accusing Muslims of molesting children and having sex with animals.
French’s fresh flurry of offensive remarks comes as a growing chorus of Republicans calls for his resignation. Since the chairman shared the poll last Wednesday, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, U.S. Congressman Craig Goldman, Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker and Texas Sens. Phil King, Brian Birdwell and Tan Parker have asked him to step down.
“Bo French’s words do not reflect my values nor the values of the Republican Party,” Patrick tweeted last Friday as he reposted the Current’s initial reporting. “Antisemitism and religious bigotry have no place in Texas. I am calling for the immediate resignation and replacement of Bo French as Tarrant County GOP Chairman.”
The Council on American-Islamic Relations also called for French’s removal last week.
In response to Patrick’s tweet, French said that while he appreciated the lieutenant governor’s input, he doesn’t plan to resign. Instead, he said people misunderstood the meaning behind the poll.
“I respect the lieutenant governor and the good work he’s doing,” French replied. “I strongly disagree with his assessment of this situation. I have always strongly supported Israel, and I’m not resigning. I’m focused on continuing to make Tarrant County even more Republican. Have a great weekend.”
In their remarks, neither Patrick nor French addressed concerns that the poll is Islamophobic.
Instead of taking a break from social media amid the dustup, French appeared intent on stirring up new online controversy over the weekend.
On Saturday, he retweeted an article from the Fort Worth Report about Fort Worth City Hall being bathed in rainbow colors for Pride Month.
“Talk about bigotry and hate,” French tweeted in response to the article. “Nothing is more offensive to the type of people we want to attract to Tarrant County than promoting degeneracy. This is a sign of hate to the vast majority of people.”
Then, on Sunday, French retweeted a post from an X user who claimed to be an Iraq war veteran and witnessed Muslims in Baghdad molest children, have sexual intercourse with farm animals and view women as “less than nothing.”
“My question for you is, how are you not ‘Islamophobic?” wrote the poster, @infintrydort.
“Talk to anyone who served overseas during the [Global War on Terror], and they will all have similar stories,” French said is repost of the claims. “I have heard hundreds of the same. This is the ‘culture’ they are bringing here if we don’t stop them. Democrats are ok with it though, because they actually don’t care about women or kids.”
French’s latest tirades come days after Zohran Mamdani, a Muslim Ugandan immigrant of Indian descent, won the New York City Democratic mayoral election — touching off a flurry of attacks by Republicans labeling the candidate a communist and antisemite.
The controversy swirling around the Tarrant GOP chairman also comes months after Texas Republicans including Cornyn and Gov. Greg Abbott grabbed headlines by demanding the Justice Department investigate a proposed North Texas Muslim-centric housing development dubbed Epic City. The DOJ formally closed its probe Monday without filing any charges or a lawsuit.
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This article appears in Jun 26 – Jul 9, 2025.
