- Florida Republican Congressman Randy Fine sparked outrage by comparing Muslims to dogs. California Governor Gavin Newsom, including several others have called for his resignation.
- Fine defended his remark. Fine has a history of anti-Muslim rhetoric and deplorable statements on Gaza, framing the comment as part of a pattern of bigotry.
Randy Fine, a Republican U.S. congressman from Florida, has sparked fresh outrage after making another inflammatory and anti-Muslim statement. In his latest remark, Fine compared Muslims to dogs and urged Americans to choose the latter “if they force us to choose.”
The comment, posted near the start of Ramadan, read:
“If they force us to choose, the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one.”
It targeted a global faith community of nearly two billion people and drew swift condemnation.
Fine claimed the post was a response to a joke made by Nerdeen Kiswani, founder of the New York City–based Palestinian advocacy network Within Our Lifetime.
Kiswani had written: “Finally, NYC is coming to Islam. Dogs definitely have a place in society, just not as indoor pets. Like we’ve said all along, they are unclean.”
She later clarified: “Lmao at the Zionists frothing at the mouth at this, thinking they’re doing something. It’s obviously a joke.”
She did not mention Fine by name.
Kiswani added in a separate post: “I don’t care if you have a dog, I do care if your dog is shitting everywhere and you’re not cleaning it.”
Another clarification explained that her remarks referred to people leaving dog excrement on piles of frozen snow across the city. One post described Fine directly as “an ugly bigot.”
Following Fine’s comments, California Governor Gavin Newsom called for his resignation. Fine, who is a staunch Jewish Zionist, has previously faced criticism from Democrats, civil rights groups, and certain Jewish organisations for anti-Muslim rhetoric and for celebrating violence in Gaza.
“Resign now, you racist slob,” Newsom wrote on X.
Jewish activist Cameron Kasky also responded to his deeply offensive comments about Muslims:
