SEE IT: Scandal-plagued Dem called police officers 'abusive a--holes' in resurfaced tweet
FIRST ON FOX: A scandal-plagued Democratic congressional candidate who previously claimed the U.S. has "an abusive cop problem" suggested in a resurfaced tweet that half of the police officers he has interacted with are "abusive a--holes."
In a since-deleted 2017 post on what was then Twitter, Bobby Pulido, a Latin music star running for Congress as a Democrat in a critical South Texas swing district, wrote, "I’ve had many incidents with cops."
He said he was pulled over in Mississippi for swerving out of his lane and that one of the officers pulled a gun on him after asking for his identification. In a follow-up tweet, still viewable on X, Pulido suggested that the officers "really wanted to search my jag for money."
"Bull f------ s---," he wrote. "Half of the ones [police officers] have been courteous (even when ticketing me) the others, abusive a--holes."
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That same day, Pulido also tweeted that "Not all cops abuse power, but many do."
In reference to an Arizona police officer being acquitted of second-degree murder after a fatal shooting in 2017, Pulido wrote, "The fact that he was found not guilty makes me question the validity of our justice system."
Pulido is running to unseat Republican Rep. Monica De La Cruz in Texas' Congressional District 15. As a former Tejano music star running in a heavily Hispanic district, Pulido poses a serious threat to De La Cruz’s seat because of his strong name recognition. However, his campaign thus far has been marred by controversy, including facing scrutiny over his relationship with longtime bandmate and convicted child sex offender Frankie Caballero.
He has also been criticized for saying that "White nationalists" are joining immigration enforcement to "hunt people down."
Pulido’s campaign has dismissed both matters as "lies" and "desperate attacks."
In another resurfaced post from 2018, Pulido wrote that "we have an abusive cop problem." His post referenced a video of an El Paso police officer appearing to point his gun at a mob of children who seemed to be attempting to interfere with an arrest.
In the same thread, Pulido wrote, "I long for the day when we teach our children how to behave even when a cop is way out of line. He should be punished legally and to the fullest, not by abhorrent curse words from children."
A year later, Pulido wrote that, "unfortunately, many people including some judges and police when given power, turn into monsters. Human nature?"
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In response to the resurfaced tweets, Zach Kraft, a spokesperson for the Republican National Committee, accused Pulido of smearing law enforcement.
"Pedophile protecting Pulido has displayed a disturbing pattern of befriending criminals while smearing the brave men and women of law enforcement," Kraft told Fox News Digital.
Kraft ripped into Pulido, calling him the Spanish word for "rotten," and predicting that South Texans "will reject this creep because, unlike Bobby 'Podrido,' they want sex predators in jail, not performing at middle schools."
Fox News Digital reached out to Pulido and the Democratic National Committee for comment.
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Beyond these comments, Pulido has also faced scrutiny for claiming that President Donald Trump and Republicans' immigration enforcement agenda is motivated by the "theory of White replacement."
"When President Trump ran, he ran on getting rid of the bad guys. They lied to us," Pulido said.
"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. 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," he said. "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 noted during the interview, "I do not want to demonize law enforcement." However, he expressed that when it comes to immigration enforcement, "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."
After De La Cruz’s campaign accused Pulido of smearing Border Patrol officers, a spokesperson for his campaign told Fox News Digital that "these desperate attacks prove one thing. The GOP establishment is in full panic mode because Mentirosa [Spanish for 'liar'] Monica De La Cruz is running a dumpster fire of a campaign, and they know they're going to lose."
The spokesperson said that Pulido "has been a lifelong supporter of our law enforcement" and added that "South Texas knows that, and they're going to make it loud and clear in November."