Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott was widely mocked after he got into a feud with a parody Liam Neeson account over a proposed border wall to curb the number of migrants traveling over the nation's southern border.
Abbott responded to a "Liam Nissan" account on X, formerly Twitter, without double-checking the username and appeared under the impression that he was conversing with the Academy Award-nominated star of Schindler's List whose career saw a resurgence in the last decade due to roles in action films like Taken and The Grey.
Although Abbott deleted the post that prompted Liam Nissan—who posts under the username @theliamnissan—to respond to him, the X user took a screenshot of the exchange and shared it via their own account.
The exchange began when Liam Nissan criticized Abbott's border wall proposals, writing:
"If you think a border wall (the exact border wall proposed by the Republicans) would help the situation at the border then you don't understand the problem and need to delete your Twitter account immediately."
The indignant Abbott followed up with this pointed reply to who he thought was the actor:
"Another Hollywood Actor thinking they know what's best for Texas. Listen here Liam, make like an actor, and learn your role, and leave dealing with the border to me."
You can see the exchange below.
@theliamnissan/X; @GovAbbot/X
Abbott was swiftly mocked.
Abbott has long accused the Biden administration of not backing his calls for tougher border security as the nation contends with higher numbers of migrants crossing the southern border, even though the Biden administration has proposed a $14 billion supplemental to support security at the border, which Republicans have balked at.
Abbott's ongoing Operation Lone Star initiative has been a source of tension between the state and the federal government since its inception in 2021. The initiative has seen various measures, including the deployment of state troopers, arrests of suspected trespassing migrants, installation of concertina wire along the Rio Grande, and significant spending on border walls.
In a win for the Biden administration, earlier this week, the United States Supreme Court issued an order directing Texas to grant federal border agents access to the state's border with Mexico.
This order comes in response to Texas officials deploying miles of concertina wire along the border. While the order did not provide detailed explanations, it effectively upholds the constitutional principle that assigns sole responsibility for border security to the federal government.
@jaketapoer/Bluesky
@BillAckman/Twitter