Trump-Backed Candidate Jokes About Sending Unadopted Cats To Chinese Restaurants So It Doesn't 'Go to Waste'

A resurfaced clip shows Brandon Herrera, the Trump-endorsed Republican running for Congress in Texas, suggesting that animal shelters send unadopted kittens to a Chinese restaurant rather than put them down.

The remark, made on a podcast last year, began circulating on X this week, 12 days before Herrera faces Democrat Katy Padilla Stout in Texas's 23rd Congressional District. The joke plays on a debunked stereotype about Chinese restaurants serving cats and dogs.

Herrera, a gun-rights YouTuber known as 'The AK Guy', has faced repeated scrutiny over his online comments.

'Don't Let It Go to Waste'

Herrera made the comment during an appearance on The Josie Show, hosted by the commentator known as The Redheaded Libertarian, MeidasTouch News reported. The host had been describing how she rescued a kitten and then went back for its three siblings after learning they were on a shelter's euthanasia list.

Herrera responded by saying he disliked seeing animals put down needlessly, before turning the conversation into a joke about Chinese food.

'I hate to see animals put down for no reason. Like, the very bare minimum, they could at least collaborate with the local Chinese restaurant and some sort of like... Don't let it go to waste,' he said, in a clip posted by the anti-Trump account PatriotTakes on 21 October 2026.

The post had received more than 56,000 views as of Thursday 22 October, according to a check of the post.

The joke invokes a longstanding, xenophobic urban legend falsely accusing Chinese restaurants of serving cats or dogs. Snopes has debunked specific allegations of this kind, including a claim involving a Florida restaurant, and described the wider legend as rooted in suspicion of unfamiliar food.

MeidasTouch did not report any response from Herrera to the resurfaced clip.

Trump's Pick in Texas's 23rd

Trump endorsed Herrera on Truth Social on 11 March, days after he became the district's Republican nominee. The president praised his support for school choice, border security and what he called 'our always under siege Second Amendment', The Texas Tribune reported.

Herrera had led the 3 March Republican primary against incumbent Tony Gonzales, setting up a runoff. Two days later, Gonzales admitted to an affair with a staffer and withdrew from the contest, clearing the way for Herrera to become the nominee, according to the Tribune. The House Ethics Committee was investigating whether he 'engaged in sexual misconduct towards an individual employed in his office'.

Gonzales later resigned from Congress on 14 April, leaving the seat vacant, Ballotpedia reported.

The 2026 run was Herrera's second attempt at the seat. In 2024, he lost a primary runoff to Gonzales by fewer than 400 votes, after attacking the congressman for backing a bipartisan gun safety bill passed in the wake of the 2022 school shooting in Uvalde, which lies in the district.

Herrera is a gun manufacturer and YouTuber who moved to the San Antonio area in 2021, KSAT reported. The station described him as known for brash, profane and provocative language.

According to KSAT, Democratic groups have previously circulated clips of Herrera making Holocaust jokes, simulating the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and discussing owning a copy of Mein Kampf. His campaign has called accusations of antisemitism or neo-Nazism smears.

A Record of Online Remarks

The kitten clip is the latest in a series of resurfaced comments. In 2023, Herrera called the gun-safety group Moms Demand Action 'f***ing stupid' and used a sexually explicit description of pregnancy to dismiss the views of its founder, Shannon Watts, Texas Public Radio reported earlier this month.

House Speaker Mike Johnson, who has endorsed Herrera and raised money for him, called that language 'detestable' but defended his candidacy. 'That was his persona online,' Johnson said, adding that Herrera is now running as a serious candidate.

Johnson said Herrera had apologised for the remarks. Texas Public Radio reported, however, that it could find no record of an apology. The station also said repeated requests to interview Herrera had gone unanswered. 'No, he is not available,' campaign manager Kimmie Gonzalez told the station.

In a recent video, Herrera accused outlets including CNN, Rolling Stone and MSNBC of combing through his content to make him look bad, according to TPR.

Padilla Stout, a former elementary school teacher and attorney who represents children in foster care, rejected the idea that such remarks are simply comedy. 'I think regardless of whether or not you say you're joking, there's still harm in rhetoric,' she said. 'And we still want someone who's serious about issues and is serious about this community representing us.'

Her campaign has focused on the cost of living and access to health care, while Herrera has campaigned on gun rights, border security, tax cuts and reductions in spending and regulation.

Trump carried the district, which stretches across 27 counties from El Paso to San Antonio, by about 15 points in 2024. The Cook Political Report rates the race Likely Republican, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee added the seat to its target list in August.

Voters in Texas's 23rd Congressional District will cast their ballots on 3 November.