Democrat Joaquin Castro, born and raised in San Antonio, currently serves as the Representative of Texas' 20th congressional district. On Monday, Representative Castro shared a meme featuring publicly available information on 44 donors who maxed out their campaign contributions for President Donald Trump.
After an act of domestic terrorism by a White nationalist who shared the same talking points made popular in President Trump's Twitter feed and during his MAGA rallies and 2016 presidential campaign, Castro decided to share who supports and enables such rhetoric. The White nationalist terrorist targeted Hispanics and murdered 22 people and injured dozens more.
Castro posted:
"Sad to see so many San Antonians as 2019 maximum donors to Donald Trump — the owner of @BillMillerBarBQ, owner of the @HistoricPearl, realtor Phyllis Browning, etc."
"Their contributions are fueling a campaign of hate that labels Hispanic immigrants as 'invaders'."
But former Trump critic and rival turned Trump supporter, GOP Senator Ted Cruz of Texas complained of Castro's release of the publicly available information. Cruz tweeted—with the list again clearly visible:
Donald Trump, Jr. even likened Castro's tweet to "the Dayton, OH shooter's list."
Which echoed the Trump campaign's response, calling the tweet a "target list" that is "endangering the safety of people."
But Castro defended his decision.
In response to Cruz and other critics, he posted:
"No one was targeted or harassed in my post. You know that. All that info is routinely published."
"You’re trying to distract from the racism that has overtaken the GOP and the fact that President Trump spends donor money on thousands of ads about Hispanics “invading” America."
"Donald Trump has put a target on the back of millions. And you’re too cowardly or agreeable to say anything about it."
"How about I stop mentioning Trump’s public campaign donors and he stops using their money for ads that fuel hate?"
He continued.
Castro was far from alone in defending the choice to name Trump donors on Twitter.
Rick Wilson, a Republican strategist, pointed out the hypocrisy of the GOP and Trump supporters.
Wilson was named when he decided to oppose Trump.
@RickWilson/Twitter
@RickWilson/Twitter
@RickWilson/Twitter
@RickWilson/Twitter
Representative Castro is not the first to share donor information that is publicly available, although he may be the first Democrat to do so. The GOP outrage has many asking what was the saying about turnabout and fair play?
Want to make a statement? This shirt with "Trump, el burro sabe mas que tu" is available here.
@jaketapoer/Bluesky
@BillAckman/Twitter