Running for re-election in Texas’s 26th District, MAGA Congressman Brandon Gill created a fundraising ad on X that features a photo of himself with his two kids. “You can call me by any name you want. I just want my children to grow up in a country that they recognize,” he wrote, defending himself against accusations of racism and promoting his family values. “Every parent & grandparent needs to read this.”
Conspicuous in her absence from the ad is Gill’s wife, Danielle, the daughter of India-born Conserva- tive commenter Dinesh D’Souza. Social media users were quick to accuse Gill of leaving his wife out to pander to MAGA voters. But Danielle has appeared in other campaign material and is light-skinned enough to pass as just another “Christian MAGA patriot,” as she calls herself. She stands by her husband as he expresses anti-immigrant views that appeal to the base. Last June, Zohran Mamdani, campaigning to be mayor of New York City, was seen in a video eating rice with his hands, prompting Gill to tell him to “go back to the Third World.”
When social media users contended that Gill’s wife had grown up eating rice the same way, she was quick to set them straight. “I did not grow up eating rice with my hands and have always used a fork,” she responded on X. “I was born in America. I’m a Christian MAGA patriot. My father’s extended family lives in India and they are also Christian and they use forks too. Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
Christians in India who eat rice with their hands may consider themselves lucky. They’re not related to Dinesh D’Souza.
Compiled and partly written by Indian humorist MELVIN DURAI, author of the novel Bala Takes the Plunge. [Comments? Contributions? Please email us at melvin@melvindurai.com. We welcome jokes, quotes, online clips, and more.]