Critics are demanding the censure and even expulsion of a Republican US congressman after his latest bigoted remarks against Muslims.
The firestorm began on Sunday when Rep. Randy Fine (R-Fla.) responded to a sarcastic social media post by Palestinian American activist Nerdeen Kiswani, who jokingly suggested that New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani's election meant that "NYC is coming to Islam," and it was time to consider banning dogs as pets because "like we've said all along, they are unclean."
"If they force us to choose," Fine wrote, "the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one."
Kiswani insisted that her post was not meant to be taken at all seriously, and was rather her attempt to satirize some Americans' fears about having a Muslim elected to lead the largest US city.
"If Americans cared as much about abused children as they do about posts joking about dogs," she wrote, "we might actually be facing a national reckoning. Instead watching some of the same politicians who resisted transparency around the Epstein files discover their outrage over this is telling."
Many Democratic lawmakers were quick to condemn Fine for suggesting that the US expel Muslims.
"We must call this what it is. Disgusting bigotry," wrote Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.). "Fine must be censured. It's about morality and decency, not politics."
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) joined Khanna's call to censure Fine.
"This is genuinely one of the most disgusting statements I have ever seen issued by an American official," she wrote. "It should not stop shocking us that the Republican Party openly embraces this. Fine should be censured and stripped of committees. To ignore this is to accept and normalize it."
Rep. Rob Menendez (D-NJ) argued that Fine's statement "is what it looks like when Islamophobia and outrage are the only two items on your political agenda," and demanded that House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) issue a formal condemnation.
Jennifer Jenkins, a Democrat running against Fine in Florida's 6th Congressional District, said that censuring the Republican lawmaker was not enough.
"Randy Fine has spent years spewing hate: attacking entire faiths, calling for violence, targeting kids and families, and dehumanizing Americans," she wrote. "He’s only escalated. Congress must act now and expel Randy Fine immediately."
Fine appears undeterred by the condemnation he's received, appearing on Newsmax Tuesday morning to push false claims about Democrats wanting to ban pet dogs.
"People should know Democrats like [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez] are saying 'we are going to get rid of your dogs,'" Fine falsely claimed. "Americans need to keep that in mind when they go and vote in November."
