Bo French Faces Backlash in Texas After Post Targeting South Asian Students at UT Austin

UT post ignites backlash

Republican nominee Bo French faced bipartisan criticism in Texas after posting on X a photo from a University of Texas football game and saying the scene showed "how many Americans have been displaced by foreigners." French’s post, which critics said portrayed the Austin campus as dominated by foreign students contrary to enrollment data, drew a sharp rebuke from fellow Republicans and Democrats, according to Reuters.

Reuters reported that University of Texas at Austin enrollment figures for the fall 2025 semester showed international students account for less than 10% of the total student body, with total enrollment reaching 55,000 students and 5,140 international students. The Reuters story also quoted French’s follow-up post: "I weep for the families in Texas who can’t get into UT because they prioritize foreigners over Texans."

Reporting for this sectionReuters

Lawmakers split over response

Senator John Cornyn condemned French’s post as racist and asked whether other Republican elected officials would condemn the remarks, writing, "Are other Republican elected officials going to condemn the intolerance and racism, or look the other way while it becomes normalised?"

In response to the backlash, Texas Governor Greg Abbott distanced himself from French, saying, "That is not my message."

The Newsweek account said students in the photo called out French, with Dhairya Gupta telling the Dallas Morning News, "It's just people being blatantly racist toward us."

Newsweek also reported that French had not changed course or apologized, and that his follow-up posts included, "I cheered the win for the team. It was a great game. But I weep for the families in Texas who can't get into UT because they prioritize foreigners over Texans."

Reporting for this sectionTelegraph IndiaNewsweek

Race, admissions, and stakes

Reuters reported that Texas residents make up 80.5% of all enrolled students at UT Austin for the fall 2025 semester, and that a state law requires 90% of every incoming freshman class to be Texas residents. The Reuters story also said UT Austin automatically admits the top 5% of performers—who are also Texas residents—at every high school in the state, and that more than 90% of students at UT Austin are domestic.

In the political fallout, Firstpost said Karl Rove would break with his party to vote for Democrat Jon Rosenthal in the Texas Railroad Commission race after Republican candidate Bo French came under fire for racist comments about South Asian students at the University of Texas at Austin. Firstpost reported that Rove made the remarks at a members-only lunch at the Headliners Club in Austin, where three attendees told The Texas Tribune that he described French as a “bigot,” and it added that Rove said he had voted for only one Democratic candidate in his life, Texas Lt Gov Bob Bullock, who was seeking re-election in 1994.

Reporting for this sectionReutersFirstpost