A Texas GOP candidate for Congress is in hot water after blaming his teenage son for a statement against former Republican President Donald Trump posted to his Facebook page in 2016.
Republican Ed Cabrera, a businessman and rancher, is campaigning to unseat incumbent Democrat Henry Cuellar in Texas' 28th Congressional District on an explictly pro-Trump platform centered on finishing the "Trump border wall" at the southern border between the U.S. and Mexico.
But when the resurfaced Facebook post, which mocked both Trump and the border wall, seemed to paint Cabrera as a fraud who has only recently embraced Trumpism for convenience's sake, he simply chalked it up to a "practical joke" by his son.
Many Texans aren't buying it.
A GOP congressional candidate in Texas said an anti-Trump post on his Facebook was a prank by his son to mock his support for Trumphttps://www.businessinsider.com/gop-candidate-anti-trump-post-prank-son-mock-trump-support-2022-1\u00a0\u2026— Politics Insider (@Politics Insider) 1642733588
The since-deleted Facebook post from February 2016 included a photograph of the Mexican consulate in New York—where Cabrera's United States-born son was undergoing the process of becoming a dual citizen of Mexico—along with the message:
"Better to be a Mexican than to be a citizen of a country that elects Trump as President. Don't pay for the wall, arriba Mejico!"
Cabrera's campaign now claims that it was a prank Cabrera's son played on him.
They told The Texas Tribune:
"The social media post was a practical joke by Mr. Cabrera's son to mock Mr. Cabrera's strong support of President Trump. It was posted when Mr. Cabrera gave his son his phone to take a picture."
But as The Texas Tribune also discovered, Cabrera's campaign's story doesn't exactly add up.
The supposed "practical joke" had been live on Cabrera's Facebook page for five years and was only deleted upon the launch of his Congressional campaign last year.
Suffice to say, many people in Texas aren't convinced.
But after he threw his son under the bus, they're definitely seeing the parallels between Cabrera and Trump.
Uh huh.https://twitter.com/texastribune/status/1484212010065842178\u00a0\u2026— Scott Francis (@Scott Francis) 1642698891
Pro-Trump Texas GOP congressional candidate, Ed Cabrera, says anti-Trump post was prank by son, as he now wants to KISS trump's Ass rather than KICK it https://www.texastribune.org/2022/01/18/trump-congress-ed-cabrera/?utm_campaign=trib-social-buttons&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social\u00a0\u2026 via @TexasTribune— Bob Garcia\ud83d\udd04 (@Bob Garcia\ud83d\udd04) 1642774770
Not buyin' it.— Searching for Sense in Amerika (@Searching for Sense in Amerika) 1642704913
#EdCabrera throwing his own son under the bus. Sounds about right for a #trump minion. Throwing under the bus is one of #trump's go-to moves.— ACE (@ACE) 1642783127
What is more Trumpy than throwing a family member under the bus?— Mark Canestrano (@Mark Canestrano) 1642698869
Others couldn't help but see a resemblance to a certain other politician.
Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz similarly blamed his scandal in which he fled for Mexico in the midst of a deadly Texas winter storm on his daughters.
Just like Cruz blamed his daughters. Right. *eye roll*— Nebby Beulah (@Nebby Beulah) 1642699118
Taken straight from the Ted Cruz book of excuses... Blame it on the kid.— Tony (@Tony) 1642698873
in the mold of rafael cruz ---> Pro-Trump GOP congressional candidate says anti-Trump post was prank by son https://www.texastribune.org/2022/01/18/trump-congress-ed-cabrera/?utm_campaign=trib-social-buttons&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social\u00a0\u2026 via @TexasTribune— Tyler Richmond \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\udfbc\ud83c\udfc8\ud83d\udc89\u26bd\ufe0f\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\ud83c\udfc0\ud83c\udf7a\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8 (@Tyler Richmond \ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\udfbc\ud83c\udfc8\ud83d\udc89\u26bd\ufe0f\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08\ud83c\udfc0\ud83c\udf7a\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8) 1642726814
Another one blaming the children. Ain\u2019t it enough that we\u2019re leaving them a climate crises to deal with. \n\nHe must know @SenTedCruz \n\nTake responsibility, don\u2019t bring kids into it unless it\u2019s a solution in their best interest. They ain\u2019t scapegoats for political advantages. https://twitter.com/PatrickSvitek/status/1484214133407064068\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/kShrhzc3Qn— Esmy V'real \ud83d\ude4b (@Esmy V'real \ud83d\ude4b) 1642699974
Despite the thinly veiled attempt at covering up his hypocrisy, Cabrera's campaign isn't letting up on casting him as the Trump voter's best candidate in the 28th district, telling the Tribune there is "no candidate more like President Trump in this race."
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