Rep. Joaquin Castro Under Fire For Tweeting Top Texas Trump 2020 Donors’ Names

Texas Rep Joaquin Castro (D-Texas), chairman of his brother Julián Castro’s presidential campaign, came under fire after tweeting the names of his constituents who are top donors to President Donald Trump. 

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The tweet showed a picture with the names of 44 donors as well as their occupations. It reads, “Sad to see so many San Antonians as 2019 maximum donors to Donald Trump… Their contributions are fueling a campaign of hate that labels Hispanic immigrants as ‘invaders.’”

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.

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Their contributions are fueling a campaign of hate that labels Hispanic immigrants as ‘invaders.’ pic.twitter.com/YT85IBF19u

— Joaquin Castro (@Castro4Congress) August 6, 2019

The tweet was posted to Castro’s congressional campaign account on Tuesday. The post came as many politicians are criticizing Trump for his anti-immigration rhetoric, which some have linked to the manifesto written by the El Paso shooter. 

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-California) replied to Castro’s tweet mocking former First Lady Michelle Obama saying:

“Targeting and harassing Americans because of their political beliefs is shameful and dangerous. What happened to ‘when they go low, we go high?’ Or does that no longer matter when your brother is polling at 1%? Americans deserve better.”

Targeting and harassing Americans because of their political beliefs is shameful and dangerous. What happened to “when they go low, we go high?” Or does that no longer matter when your brother is polling at 1%? Americans deserve better. https://t.co/PiFcifpxc1

— Kevin McCarthy (@kevinomccarthy) August 6, 2019

Tim Murtaugh, Trump’s 2020 communications director, accused Castro of creating a “target list.” 

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) said that Castro’s tweeted was highly inappropriate given recent events and that “encouraging retaliation is dangerous and not what Texans have a right to expect from their members of Congress.”

This is grossly inappropriate, especially in the wake of recent tragic shootings. This win-at-all-costs mentality, publicly targeting an opponent’s supporters, and encouraging retaliation is dangerous and not what Texans have a right to expect from their members of Congress. https://t.co/Ecw4mszp4Y

— Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) August 6, 2019

Castro quickly defended himself tweeting to Murtaugh saying that the “graphic I shared doesn’t have private or personal info — no addresses or phone #, etc. It’s publicly reported info.” He then posted a second response calling Trump’s campaign dangerous for striking “fear of brown-skinned immigrants.”

2nd, what I said is true — your campaign has stoked fear of brown-skinned immigrants. Those contributions hv been used to pay for over 2K @Facebook ads declaring an invasion by Hispanics.

That is truly dangerous for millions.
Will you commit not to run another ad like that? 2/2

— Joaquin Castro (@Castro4Congress) August 6, 2019