SouthernWorldwide.com – A Democratic congressional candidate in South Texas is facing scrutiny over resurfaced tweets in which he described some police officers as “abusive a–holes” and expressed skepticism about the justice system.
Bobby Pulido, a former Latin music star running to unseat Republican Rep. Monica De La Cruz in Texas’ Congressional District 15, made the controversial remarks in a series of posts on what was then Twitter in 2017.
In one tweet, Pulido recounted an incident where he was pulled over in Mississippi for swerving. He claimed one of the officers pulled a gun on him while asking for his identification.
He further suggested in a follow-up tweet that the officers “really wanted to search my jag for money.” Pulido then wrote, “Bull f—— s—. Half of the ones [police officers] have been courteous (even when ticketing me) the others, abusive a–holes.”
On the same day in 2017, Pulido also tweeted, “Not all cops abuse power, but many do.” He also commented on the acquittal of an Arizona police officer in a fatal shooting case, stating, “The fact that he was found not guilty makes me question the validity of our justice system.”
Pulido’s campaign has been marked by several controversies. He has faced criticism for his past association with Frankie Caballero, a convicted child sex offender and his former bandmate. Additionally, he has been criticized for remarks suggesting that “White nationalists” are joining immigration enforcement to “hunt people down.”
Pulido’s campaign has vehemently dismissed these criticisms, labeling them as “lies” and “desperate attacks.”
In another resurfaced post from 2018, Pulido stated, “we have an abusive cop problem.” This comment was in response to a video showing an El Paso police officer appearing to point his gun at a group of children who were allegedly interfering with an arrest.
In the same thread, Pulido expressed a desire for a future where children are taught to behave even when an officer “is way out of line.” He added that such officers “should be punished legally and to the fullest, not by abhorrent curse words from children.”
A year later, in 2019, Pulido wrote, “unfortunately, many people including some judges and police when given power, turn into monsters. Human nature?”
The Republican National Committee has reacted strongly to Pulido’s resurfaced comments. Spokesperson Zach Kraft accused Pulido of smearing law enforcement.
Kraft used the Spanish word for “rotten” to describe Pulido and predicted that voters in South Texas “will reject this creep because, unlike Bobby ‘Podrido,’ they want sex predators in jail, not performing at middle schools.”
Beyond his comments on law enforcement, Pulido has also drawn criticism for his assertion that President Donald Trump and Republicans’ immigration enforcement agenda is driven by the “theory of White replacement.”
Pulido stated, “When President Trump ran, he ran on getting rid of the bad guys. They lied to us.” He elaborated, “It’s race. It’s always down to race. And I hate to say this, because I hate to inflame it, but I’m going to call it out because that is what it is.”
He continued, “Look, when they have this theory of White replacement, they’re saying, ‘Oh, no, no, if it weren’t for this and this and crime,’ they’ll throw in all these other things to dance around the true issue. Which is there’s too many Brown and Black people, which they’re saying they’re just going to stay the same and be poor.”
Pulido clarified during an interview that he does not intend to demonize law enforcement. However, he expressed concern about immigration enforcement, stating, “a lot of the people that are joining, not all of them, OK. There’s a lot of White nationalists that want to join because they want to go hunt down people, right, they’re yahoos.”
A spokesperson for Pulido’s campaign defended him, stating that Pulido “has been a lifelong supporter of our law enforcement.” The spokesperson added, “South Texas knows that, and they’re going to make it loud and clear in November.”
