Florida Rep Randy Fine faces calls to resign after vile, Islamophobic rant

Representative Randy Fine has landed himself in a firestorm after posting a vile, Islamophobic rant on X.

In a post on Elon Musk-owned X (formerly Twitter), on February 16, 2026, Florida’s 6th congressional district representative wrote, “If they (Muslims) force us to choose, the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one.”

The post quickly went viral and quickly amassed more than 42 million views. The controversial post triggered massive backlash with many U.S. lawmakers demanding his resignation.

The Democratic Party’s presidential frontrunner Gavin Newsom replied, writing, “Resign now, you racist slob.” 

Veteran journalist Piers Morgan slammed the U.S. politician, saying, “You disgusting pr*ck.”

New York's 10th District Representative Dan Goldman called on Speaker Mike Johnson to take action against Mr Fine, saying, “SpeakerJohnson must show some actual leadership by bringing a censure resolution to the floor and stripping Mr Fine of his committee assignments.”

Goldman said Fine’s hateful rhetoric was damaging not only to Muslims but also to Jews who were trying to fight antisemitism and unify against hate of all kinds.

Representative Ro Khanna slammed Mr Fine, questioning his morality and decency. He described GOP politician’s comments as “disgusting bigotry”.

Democratic Whip of the U.S. House of Representatives Katherine Clark, along with several other lawmakers and prominent figures, has also called on Fine to resign.

However, the Florida congressman has stood by his remarks and posted messages defending his comments.