On Sunday, Congressman Tony Gonzalez (R-Texas) appeared on CNN to criticize his primary opponent and several of his conservative colleagues, accusing them of pedophilia and neo-Nazism.
As reported by Yahoo News, Gonzalez went on CNN’s “State of the Union” with host Dana Bash to angrily attack his opponent, Brandon Herrera, a Second Amendment advocate and YouTuber known by the online moniker “The AK Guy.” Herrera and three other Republicans challenged Gonzales in the Super Tuesday primary on March 5th; Gonzales finished first with 45%, while Herrera came in second with 25%, thus forcing Gonzales to a runoff election that will take place on May 28th.
Gonzales took aim at Congressman Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.), the first member of Congress to endorse Herrera’s primary challenge. Gonzales directly accused Gaetz of pedophilia, claiming without evidence that “Matt Gaetz paid minors to have sex with them at drug parties.”
He then went on to attack Congressman Bob Good (R-Va.), the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, who has also endorsed Herrera’s bid; he directly called Herrera a “neo-Nazi,” again without any evidence, and compared both Herrera and Good to the Ku Klux Klan.
“Bob Good endorsed my opponent, a known neo-Nazi,” Gonzales continued. “These people used to walk around with white hoods at night. Now they’re walking around with white hoods in the daytime.”
Bash responded by refuting Gonzales’ assertion about Gaetz, pointing out that “the federal government did look into Matt Gaetz and those allegations, and they decided not to prosecute.”
Herrera responded to Gonzales’ comments with a post on X, denouncing Gonzales as “my failure of a Congressman” and calling his outburst “the death spiral” of his campaign.
“He has to cry to his liberal friends about me because Republicans won’t listen anymore,” Herrera concluded.
In response to the incident, Congressman Eli Crane (R-Ariz.) announced his endorsement of Herrera on X. Congressman Crane disavowed Gonzales’ remarks as “such BS and so pathetic, especially from a fellow veteran,” before adding, “hey Brandon, add me to your list of endorsements. We will never save the country with guys like Tony.”
Gonzales has faced widespread criticism from conservatives over many of his moderate policy stances, including his support for increased legal immigration and opposition to securing the southern border, despite the fact that his district, the 23rd district, spans the majority of Texas’ border with Mexico. He also voted in favor of a sweeping gun control bill touted by Joe Biden and voted in favor of the “Respect for Marriage Act,” which sought to codify same-sex marriage as a federal “right.” For these two votes in particular, Gonzales was censured by the Texas Republican Party last year.