Records show how UT leaders tracked fallout of Bo French's racist tweet before response, by Lily Kepner, Staff Writer Oct 26, 2026

Friends:

Interesting story about the Bo French debacle about which I previously blogged. The moral of the story, as I see it, is that condemning racism against one's own students should never be treated as a partisan political calculation. Racism is racism, period. 

And its sting is felt all the more deeply when our departments like Mexican American and Latino Studies, African and African Diaspora Studies, Women and Gender Studies have been dismantled, diminished, and disrespected. 

Falta de respeto, no less. After all, these are the very spaces that, among other things, help students understand racism. 

And let's be clear about Bo French's white nationalist rhetoric. It has no place either in society or our universities.

He needs a serious intellectual upgrade in his own understanding that Texas is a massively diverse state and how our institutions reflect that very diversity, with a rich history shaped by many peoples, cultures, and traditions.

He would have benefited tremendously if in some point in his own academic career, he would have taken Ethnic or gender studies courses—or some other critical course content elsewhere in the academy since he obviously didn't get it either in his K-12 schooling or at home. 

That said, our public universities should be places where diversity is celebrated, honored, and respected instead of vilified, marginalized or erased.

-Angela Valenzuela, Ph.D.

Records show how UT leaders tracked fallout of Bo French's racist tweet before response

By Lily Kepner,Staff WriterOct 26, 2026

Texas Mascot “Hook ‘Em” watches the flyover ahead of Texas’ 24-23 win over Ohio State at Royal-Memorial
Stadium in Austin, Sept. 12, 2026. After the game, statewide Republican candidate Bo French posted on social
media, describing the UT student section as a "problem."
Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman

The weekend of Sept. 12, the University of Texas celebrated.The weekend of Sept. 12, the University of Texas celebrated.

The No. 4 Longhorn football team had just defeated top-ranked Ohio State University in a nail-biting 24-23 game.

Celebrating the win that night, UT sent out an “apply now!” link on X, inviting students to be a part of “moments like this.” A UT social media analyst tracked which politicians and celebrities had posted about the win (U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, Matthew McConaughey and U.S. Senate candidate James Talarico) and who had posted a picture with President Jim Davis — referred to behind the scenes as PJD — (Ohio State’s president, a local CEO and former U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison).

The day after, the UT account went comparatively quiet.

On Sunday, Sept. 13, just before 8 a.m., Bo French — a Tarrant County Republican running for a seat on the oil and gas industry-regulating Texas Railroad Commission — posted a screengrab he’d taken from the game.

The photo showed a student section erupting in cheers as the Longhorns charged into the fourth quarter to score the 21 points they needed to clinch the victory. French described the crowd, with celebrating South Asian fans in the front row, as a problem “far worse than anyone imagined.”

French — a downballot conservative candidate — posts online angrily and often. He has argued  that 100 million people, about a third of the country, should be deported, and has increasingly perpetuated Islamophobic and antisemitic views.

But his post about UT’s student section hit a nerve, attracting millions of views and forcing those in the Republican party to answer the question: Was this politics as usual, or did French’s post cross a line?

In the days that followed, Republicans including U.S. Sen. John Cornyn, Texas Speaker of the House Dustin Burrows and Texas Tech University System Chairman Cody Campbell condemned French’s language as racist or wrong. Longtime conservative strategist Karl Rove said he would not vote for French in November. But the University of Texas remained quiet on the matter for 36 hours.

UT leadership’s silence would create deep rifts with its students of color, some of whom already felt upset with the university’s decision to cut ethnic studies majors and some core classes.

Records obtained by the Austin American-Statesman show that as Longhorns called on UT to weigh in, staff meticulously monitored online traffic. In the days following, concerned emails from donors, parents and students peppered the president’s inbox.

At 5 p.m. that Sunday, UT’s top communications executive, Patrick Wiseman, told his team to stand down and not give a statement in response to the swarm of online activity and media inquiries. The next day, when demand for the university to weigh in swelled, spokespeople emphasized that UT’s undergraduate student body is 4% international students, but stuck with their choice not to comment.

Thirty-six hours after French’s post, Davis reposted a statement from UT System Chairman Kevin Eltife in support of all Longhorns that did not condemn the original inflammatory post.

The red line between politics and racism “has largely been erased,” said Cal Jillson, a Southern Methodist University political science professor. As the university and Legislature have removed resources and support for diverse courses and students from college campuses, and colleges adopt pledges to institutional neutrality, there’s less appetite to stand against racism, he said.

“Communication staff is very much aware of these red lines and of the social impropriety of getting too close,” Jillson said.

But to students, French’s comment mattered. Students speaking at an Asian Texans for Justice press conference last month said UT’s lack of public comment made them feel alienated and unsupported.

After several other recent speech controversies on campus, including one in which an invited speaker directed racist slurs toward students of color, Davis sent an email to campus this month showing compassion to students as “outsiders say vile and abhorrent things.”

“I can’t make the pain of experiencing offensive comments go away. I know this is easy to say and hard to do, but don’t stop to listen,” Davis said. “They don’t define you, your character, or your place in the world and on your campus. These outsiders certainly don’t define UT.”

University spokesperson Mike Rosen said that with few exceptions, the university likes to keep its public remarks mission-oriented, not reactive.

Tarrant County Republican Party Chair Bo French speaks during a rally, on Tuesday, April 15, 2025, in Mansfield. French
posted online after a September UT football game, describing a picture of the student section as a "problem."
(Shafkat Anowar/Dallas
Morning News)

Sunday, 10:34 a.m. — mixed comments and misinformation

An hour-and-a-half after French sent his soon-to-be-viral social media post, Rosen — who also serves as senior director of issues and reputation management — sent the post to a Microsoft Teams chat with at least six other communications colleagues “for awareness … due to the source.”

“The comments are mixed and pretty horrendous in places,” Rosen wrote at 10:34 a.m. Sunday.

His message kickstarted a 36-hour exchange of updates on politicians’ reactions, news stories and reporter inquiries.

At 11:20 a.m., Wilbur DeLashmet, UT’s social media analyst, flagged that Cornyn had challenged Republicans to “condemn the intolerance and racism, or look the other way while it becomes normalized.”

Some joined the senator: two minutes later, Burrows, the Republican leader of the Texas House, said the post “crossed a line.” But DeLashmet also flagged posts in support of French from Nick Plumb, a French ally who lost his Republican U.S. House primary, and Nick Fuentes, a far-right political commentator and white supremacist.

Rosen criticized the “ignorance of facts and for how things work” with conservative media and talking heads discussing UT’s demographic make-up. No one responded at the time or asked about addressing it.

Sunday afternoon — awareness increases

Noelle Seybert, UT’s director of social media, chimed in at 4:54 p.m. to ask how many times the president had been tagged in posts and comments. DeLashmet said fewer than a dozen.

In Davis’ inbox, more than a dozen students, alumni and parents had implored the president to respond, records of his email show.

“This isn’t political commentary — it’s racial hostility aimed at one community, and the replies have already moved from mockery to slurs at real students,” a community member wrote to Davis at 2:20 p.m. Sunday. “A clear word from you would mean a great deal right now.”

An alumna said her Indian parents had assimilated to American culture, learning English by watching football games. They would be horrified to see the attack on students who looked just like them and the university’s lack of a public defense, she said.

Sunday, 5 p.m. — 'No need for us to stoop to these politics'

At 5 p.m., Wiseman, the head of UT’s communications who reports to Davis, told staff that he was in contact with “leadership” and didn’t think UT needed to comment.

“Bo is getting crushed by others. No need for us to stoop to these politics and make a UT comment,” Wiseman said.

Six minutes later, DeLashmet sent a screenshot from a Dallas Morning News reporter’s post on X, asking to speak with students in the picture. One member of the communications chat reacted with a shocked emoji. No one else responded until the next morning, when a staff member said they would monitor if the reporter wrote anything.

University of Texas President Jim Davis gives the annual State of the University Address to an audience seated in Hogg
Auditorium, Oct. 21, 2026. Davis' response to statewide Republican Bo French's post about the UT student section has been
criticized by students of color. (Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman)

Before 8 a.m. Monday, the team’s chat buzzed with a link to a New York Times story about Republicans condemning French’s language. Politico had also published a report, and French’s comment was trending on Yik Yak, a social media application popular among college students, with 11,000 mentions by 11 a.m. Monday. It was the second most popular topic after the game itself, DeLashmet said. Katie Boshart, director of media, asked for regular Yik Yak updates.

Overnight, tensions had increased, and Davis’ inbox had more than a dozen new emails, including from at least three alumni who said they would withhold donations if UT didn’t respond.

According to Davis’ calendar, he had a half-hour “communications meeting” that morning at 10 a.m., which Rosen later told the Statesman was a standing call. UT’s communication strategy appeared to shift after the meeting.

Around noon, Boshart emailed reporters asking them to “clarify student data” by focusing on undergraduate student enrollment, which has a smaller percentage of international students than the overall student body.

“Much of the debate online is about undergraduate students admitted to the university and think that clarification is an important distinction,” Boshart wrote in an email to the New York Times, requesting a journalist clarify their reporting that “fewer than 10 percent of the student body” at UT is international.

Rosen told multiple reporters there would be no university statement, according to email records. At 5 p.m. on Monday, DeLashmet sent the group a Dallas Morning News story with an interview from a student depicted in French’s post.

Kelly Soucy — the assistant vice president of student support — asked for a PDF of the article so her office could “reach out to the students” included.

Less than an hour later, DeLashmet had a big update: the UT System had posted a statement on X from Board of Regents Chairman Eltife, drafted with the help of two system communications staff, according to records. Eltife chairs the board that oversees UT and appoints its leadership, including Davis.

“When I stood on the sidelines at DKR-Texas Memorial Stadium Saturday night and looked up at the seats filled with incredible fans, I saw Longhorns,” Eltife said. “I’m proud to celebrate all our Longhorn students today and everyday.”

That changed things. “We’re working on a PJD response,” Seybert, head of social media, said, referring to Davis.

Davis’s own statement came 44 minutes later.

“Proud to stand with Chairman Eltife. Our students are exceptional. All of them are Longhorns,” he wrote.

Boshart asked if this should change their responses to reporters.

Rosen told a Washington Post reporter who had asked about Davis’ new statement, “off the record, I would not call it reverse course.” UT’s official response was still no statement, he said.

“The chairman of UT System decided to tweet something. System is a separate entity and what I told you earlier did not apply to him. President Davis simply retweeted him, which is customary,” Rosen wrote.

Experts, students say UT has a ‘shift’ in tone

In the time since French’s post, the university has weathered controversies over a far-right speaker directing racial slurs at students at a campus event, and accusations that conservative commentator Ben Shapiro and leftist streamer Hasan Piker received unequal treatment in finding event space.

Last week, about a month after French’s post, Davis sent a letter to students broadly addressing recent instances of controversial speech at UT, advising students to walk away when they hear speech that is offensive and be careful who they invite to campus. He said the university has an obligation to respect the First Amendment and it would review its policy for approving speakers.

Davis’ predecessors — former presidents Jay Hartzell and Greg Fenves — condemned racism on campus during their time leading UT. But the current president’s letter to students took a different tack, not specifically naming the offensive speech or directly addressing the racist language.

Mysha Qureshi, a South Asian UT junior, said students are paying attention to the “shift” on campus. She is concerned that by not calling out the racism toward students, UT is allowing a “hostile” environment toward students of color to grow.

“They are not protecting us,” Qureshi said. “What’s the point of students wanting to go here if they’re going to get attacked in this way?”

Jillson said the change in rhetoric from the university comes as Republican leadership takes greater hold over UT. But it’s the president’s job to manage “external constituencies” and keep the university stable for past, current and future students, he said.

That means keeping Republicans, the Legislature, donors, community members and students happy.

“There are other constituencies which Davis apparently believes can be disappointed by the university, whereas the constituency that he’s directly focused on cannot,” Jillson said.

Barrett Taylor, a University of North Texas higher education professor, said public institutions of higher education are avoiding commenting on political matters as the state “renegotiates its contracts with universities.”

“It’s harder for people to know when they can act and what they can do,” Taylor said. “It’s happening particularly rapidly and dramatically in Texas, but it’s happening at lots and lots of different schools.”

Students are paying attention to that, said Qureshi, who still believes a university statement condemning racism from French and other speakers is important.

“We are not a community that feels very important, or (one) that I feel the administration thinks is very important,” she said.

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