Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) sparked immediate outrage across the political spectrum after posting on X: “If they force us to choose, the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one.”
Fine, who has a long history of making bigoted, Islamophobic comments, said he was responding to Palestinian American activist Nerdeen Kiswani, who had written online: “Dogs definitely have a place in society, just not as indoor pets. Like we’ve said all along, they are unclean.” Kiswani later told NBC News her comment was “satire” and part of a “hyperlocal NYC conversation” about dog waste following a recent snowstorm.
But Fine’s remark ignited swift and fierce backlash.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) said it was “genuinely one of the most disgusting statements I have ever seen issued by an American official,” adding that “it should not stop shocking us that the Republican Party openly embraces this.”
“Fine should be censured & stripped of committees. To ignore this is to accept and normalize it,” the New York Democrat added.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) fired back at Fine: “Resign now, you racist slob.”
CNN’s Jake Tapper denounced the comment as “disgusting bigotry.”
Even conservative commentator Megyn Kelly expressed disbelief, posting: “WTF is this.”