Bo French, the Republican nominee for Texas Railroad Commissioner, made since-deleted X posts over several years calling for public executions of political opponents, including a May 2020 post that suggested executing former President Barack Obama, CNN KFile found. In February 2025 he again urged "public executions" in a post referring to officials exposed by a group he named. Several Republicans have criticized his remarks, but some Texas GOP leaders, including Gov. Greg Abbott, have not publicly withdrawn support. Abbott and the state party did not respond to CNN's request for comment.
CNN KFile: Texas GOP Nominee Bo French Urged Public Executions, Including Barack Obama
Bo French, the Republican nominee for Texas Railroad Commissioner, posted since-deleted messages over the past six years calling for public executions of political opponents, including a comment that targeted former President Barack Obama, a CNN KFile review found.
The investigation uncovered a May 2020 X (formerly Twitter) post in which French advocated using the death penalty against people he labeled “Obama conspirators,” and identified another removed message suggesting Obama himself should face execution.
“The penalty for treason used to be death. Even for a former president. #HangEmHigh,” French wrote on X in May 2020.
More recently, in February 2025, French responded to another user’s post about the group he referred to as the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) by writing, “I want more than perp walks. I want public executions.” These posts have since been removed from his account.
French has already drawn criticism from several Republicans for a separate, blatantly racist post earlier this month. At the same time, some prominent Texas Republican figures — including Governor Greg Abbott — have not publicly withdrawn support for French despite the controversy.
Abbott and the Texas Republican Party did not respond to CNN’s request for comment on the newly reported posts. For more details, see the CNN KFile report: CNN.
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