Critics were left dumbfounded Friday night after Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL), known by some for his frequent Islamophobic and genocidal remarks, took aim at a new group during an appearance on a conservative political talk show.
“We don’t want Armenians to be able to serve in Congress,” Fine said during an appearance on “The Jenny Beth Show,” referencing his Republican primary opponent Dan Bilzerian, an American influencer whose father is Armenian.
Bilzerian filed to run against Fine in early April, and has sparked controversy of his own by making antisemitic remarks such as calling Judaism a “terrible religion” and engaging in Holocaust denial. Fine’s response, however, drew its own scrutiny from critics.
“Democrats need to eject this guy from Congress in November,” wrote John Jackson, a political commentator and self described “former GOP and past trial lawyer,” in a social media post on X to their nearly 60,000 followers.
“This is unspeakably racist behavior in clear violation of his oath to uphold the Constitution, including the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment. Why does nobody ever ask him good questions, also? Infuriating.”
Fine recently suggested that dogs were preferable to Muslims, a remark that left several conservative figures dumbstruck. He’s also uttered genocidal remarks as it relates to Israel’s ongoing siege on Gaza, writing in 2023 “may the streets of Gaza overflow with blood,” and, in response to a photo shared with him of what appears to be a Palestinian infant buried in rubble, he wrote “thanks for the pic!”
Fine’s recent remarks targeting Armenians, however, took even his fiercest critics by surprise.
“I know he’s a racist [but] why are Armenians catching strays?” wrote X user “Blakeley,” a popular political commentator with more than 76,000 followers.
Journalist Zaid Jilani expressed similar confusion as to Fine’s new target.
“Why is Randy Fine branching out in his racism, did an Armenian buffet kick him out because he violated the three hour time limit?” Jilani wrote in a social media post on X to his more than 151,000 followers.
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