Who is Bo French? Trump Ally Faces Backlash Over Racist Post Targeting Indian Students.
Texas Republican politician Bo French has come under sharp criticism for a social media posting targeting South Asian students at the University of Texas at Austin that has drawn accusations of racism and xenophobia.
French, the Republican nominee for the powerful Texas Railroad Commission, posted a picture of students celebrating the University of Texas Longhorns' football victory over Ohio State. The picture showed a diverse group of students, many of South Asian descent.
French seemed to suggest that the presence of such students represented a larger problem involving foreigners in Texas institutions. He wrote in one post that he had heard the university’s graduation looked like the photograph and that the situation was “far worse” than he had thought. In another post, he said the image illustrated how Americans had been “displaced by foreigners.”
The comments quickly triggered backlash from Democrats, Indian-American groups and, notably, several Republicans from French's own party.
Who is Bo French?
Bo French is a Texas Republican politician, businessman and former chairman of the Tarrant County Republican Party. He is currently the Republican nominee for the Texas Railroad Commission, a state agency responsible for regulating Texas' oil and gas industry.
French was born in Fort Worth and grew up in Midland, Texas, in a family that was connected to the oil industry. In his campaign biography he says he entered the energy industry in 1994 and worked as an energy trader for about a decade. He also describes himself as a rancher, mineral owner and businessman involved in security operations in the Middle East.
He became more prominent in Texas Republican politics when he served as chairman of the Tarrant County GOP. French has generally supported Donald Trump and campaigned on issues such as immigration, border security, opposition to DEI programs and the threat of radical Islam in his political career.
Fans celebrated a nail-biting football win. One politician saw them as a “problem.”
— The Juggernaut (@thejuggernaut) September 14, 2026
On September 12, the University of Texas Longhorns beat No. 1 Ohio State 24-23 in Austin after coming back from a 20-point deficit. More than 105,000 fans attended.
On September 13, Bo French,… pic.twitter.com/9VNWdrJWZu
His campaign for the Railroad Commission has attracted attention because he takes strong positions on immigration and national identity. He also drew criticism earlier this year over controversial statements on Native Americans and has advocated aggressive immigration policies, including large-scale deportations.
Why did his post about Indian students spark outrage?
The controversy began after the University of Texas defeated Ohio State in a football game. Students in the stands were shown celebrating in a video posted by the Texas Longhorns official athletics account.
French used a picture from that celebration in his social media posts. He focused on the number of South Asian students visible in the crowd and suggested that their presence represented the displacement of Americans by foreigners.
The photograph itself did not establish that the students were undocumented immigrants or that they had displaced anyone. Reports also noted that the image was from a football celebration, not a graduation ceremony, despite French referring to graduation in his post.
The comments drew criticism from students who were in the picture. Students told local media they found the comments disturbing and said they were disappointed that a photograph of them celebrating their university had been turned into a political statement about race and immigration.
And the backlash was not limited to Democrats. Republican Senator John Cornyn publicly denounced the comments and wondered whether other Republican officials would speak out against what he described as intolerance and racism. Texas House Speaker Dustin Burrows also called on French to delete the post. Republican state representatives Jared Patterson and Lacey Hull also criticized his comments.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott also distanced himself from French’s message, saying the image showed Longhorn fans celebrating together and that the state should unite around its universities and sports teams.
French Defends His Comments
French has rejected the suggestion that his comments were about race. He argued that his criticism was about immigration policy rather than ethnicity.
French said institutions should place Americans before foreigners in his view. He has pushed on for tougher immigration policies and has attacked the media for misinterpreting his position.
But critics have argued that the issue is not so much about immigration policy. French appeared to identify students as foreigners based on their appearance, without evidence about their citizenship or immigration status, they say.
Indian-American advocacy organisations also condemned the posts. The Hindu American Foundation and the Indian American Advocacy Council accused French of promoting anti-Indian and anti-South Asian rhetoric. Democratic Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi also called the comments xenophobic and criticised French for targeting students based on how they looked.
The controversy has come at a politically charged time in Texas as immigration and the state’s rapidly growing Asian-American population have become increasingly important issues. Texas has an estimated 1.9 million Asian Americans, including more than 450,000 Indian Americans.
The story has since grown beyond one social media post. This has been another test for Republican leaders to respond to inflammatory remarks about immigrants and minority communities. Republicans have criticized French but also defended his immigration position.
French remains the Republican nominee for the Texas Railroad Commission, and it is particularly important as the state goes into the 2026 midterm elections.
