{"id":698027,"date":"2026-04-01T20:34:28","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T20:34:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/698027\/"},"modified":"2026-04-01T20:34:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-01T20:34:28","slug":"analysis-rep-chip-roys-latest-islamophobic-outburst-reeks-of-desperation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/698027\/","title":{"rendered":"Analysis: Rep. Chip Roy’s latest Islamophobic outburst reeks of desperation"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"Congressman Chip Roy scowls during a House Judiciary Committee field hearing. Credit: Shutterstock \/ lev radin<\/p>\n

With U.S. Chip Roy floundering in his bid<\/a> to become the next GOP bombthrower to occupy the Texas Attorney General\u2019s Office, he\u2019s retreated into familiar territory: screaming outrageous shit at the top of his lungs and hoping someone notices.<\/p>\n

In the latest of those outbursts, the Austin-San Antonio Republican fired off a tweet<\/a> Sunday offering his suggestion on how to \u201c#SaveTexas.\u201d His answer? \u201cNo more Muslims. No more criminals. No more marxists [sic]. No more corporatists.\u201d<\/p>\n

Considering Roy has been prancing around the U.S. House for months screaming about Muslims being days away from imposing Sharia law<\/a> on the nation, we probably shouldn\u2019t be surprised to see him go a step further and demand Texas wall itself off to members of an entire religion. (By the way, if anybody needs an explanation why his Sharia law claim is utter bullshit, here you go<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

Nor should Roy\u2019s Islamophobic outburst come as much surprise given his long history of outrageous histrionics. <\/p>\n

For instance, there was the congressman\u2019s claim that the pandemic was all a hoax perpetrated by Democrats and the media<\/a>. Or the time he voted against<\/a>\u00a0reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act. Or when he staged a loony-tunes border security roundtable<\/a>\u00a0at which far-right propaganda outlet Breitbart News was the only invited \u201cmedia.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Texas chapter of Muslim civil rights group the Council on American-Islamic Relations, or CAIR, correctly blasted Roy\u2019s latest outburst as \u201cdehumanizing rhetoric\u201d and a \u201cbetrayal of his oath to uphold the U.S. Constitution.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe must ask our fellow Americans: Imagine the universal and justified outrage if a member of Congress posted a message saying\u00a0\u2018No more Christians or no more Jewish people.\u2019<\/strong>\u00a0It would be instantly recognized as a bigoted, unacceptable, and un-American call for a religious test,\u201d CAIR-Texas said in an emailed statement. <\/p>\n

To be sure, Roy\u2019s tweet is a repugnant attack on the First Amendment\u2019s guarantee of religious liberty.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is the height of hypocrisy for a lawmaker to claim the mantle of a \u2018constitutionalist\u2019 while advocating for a religious test that the Founding Fathers explicitly prohibited,\u201d CAIR-Texas continued. \u201cWe call on members of the U.S. House of Representatives to formally hold Rep.\u00a0Roy\u00a0accountable for this dangerous and un-American rhetoric. This level of open hostility toward a religious minority has no place in the halls of Congress.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s hard to argue with anything CAIR had to say about Roy\u2019s tantrum. His anti-Islam blathering isn\u2019t just dumb, but dangerous.<\/p>\n

However, it\u2019s also revealing.<\/p>\n

It reveals a politician who seems to understand \u2014 at least on some level \u2014 that the ground is shifting beneath his feet. Something in Roy\u2019s reptile brain seems to grasp that the same brand of performative outrage that once earned him cable hits and applause lines is starting to land with a dull, tired thud.<\/p>\n

Roy built his political persona on being the guy in the room with the biggest flapping pie hole \u2014 the one willing to torch decorum, facts and basic decency in exchange for a few viral moments and approving tweets from the most aggrieved corners of the Republican electorate. <\/p>\n

But there\u2019s a difference between being provocative and being repetitive. Lately, Roy\u2019s act feels like a rerun: Archie Bunker on repeat minus the laugh track. <\/p>\n

So, to his logic, now\u2019s the time to escalate.<\/p>\n

It won\u2019t do him much good. In fact, the damage to his political career is already done. <\/p>\n

Even though Roy went into the Republican AG primary with an abundance of name recognition, that didn\u2019t seem to matter much to voters who forced him into a high-dollar runoff with State Sen. Mayes Middleton, a rich-kid MAGA adherent who\u2019s been willing to drop $14 million of his own cash to end up on top. <\/p>\n

At this point, it\u2019s hard to imagine the underfunded Roy pulling ahead. Or that the congressman\u2019s anti-Muslim bigotry will differentiate him much from an opponent who\u2019s dubbed himself \u201cMAGA Mayes\u201d and also has no qualms about peddling offensive remarks<\/a> so he can win over the base.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Chip Roy thinks he can out-Sharia law \u2018MAGA Mayes,\u2019 he\u2019s kidding himself,\u201d UT-San Antonio political scientist Jon Taylor told the Current. \u201cThe battle lines in that contest have already been set.\u201d<\/p>\n

And in the likelihood Roy loses, it\u2019s not like he can go back to his aggressively redrawn 21st District. He sacrificed that job to run for AG, and it\u2019s hard to imagine the general electorate there or elsewhere in Central Texas being eager to import his rage-tweeting about imaginary threats and demonizing entire groups of people.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy thought is the next step for Chip Roy is a guest spot on [U.S. Sen.] Ted Cruz\u2019s podcast, or maybe something on Fox News, OAN or some other right-wing channel,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cThat\u2019s the future I see for him. His shelf life has pretty much come to an end.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roy\u2019s problem isn\u2019t just that his comments are offensive \u2014 though they are. It\u2019s that they\u2019re increasingly out of step with a public that, after years of nonstop grievance politics, seems exhausted by it. The constant escalation, the endless parade of enemies \u2014 real or imagined \u2014 and the reflexive cruelty have worn thinner than U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan\u2019s combover.<\/p>\n

Heading into the midterms, polls show Republicans are in trouble because voters are tired of the overheated immigration rhetoric<\/a> Trump, Roy and others have pushed, often to deadly outcomes. Surveys also show voters crave solutions on affordability<\/a>, including medical coverage, childcare and other kitchen table issues \u2014 solutions that haven\u2019t exactly figured into Roy\u2019s ragebait-driven agenda.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s one thing to build a career on grievance. But Roy\u2019s about to find out it\u2019s another to figure out what comes after voters decide they\u2019ve had enough.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\tA group of Texas churches and the IRS agreed to nix the Johnson Amendment, which prohibits nonprofits from endorsing candidates. A Trump-appointed judge said no.\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Analysis:\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tRoy\u2019s tiresome torrent of Islamophobic screeds show just how little he has to offer as a policymaker. \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Live\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tCalifornia\u2019s The Growlers are also bringing their \u2018beach goth\u2019 to town. \t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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