Brandon Herrera, a social media personality who has recently begun a run for Congress, told supporters that he would try to change America's approach towards Israel if elected. He laid out his proposed policy during a meeting with supporters in Brewster County.
"There's a nuanced take I have here, and people get confused when I say that I don't think we should be paying for all of Israel's stuff all the time," he began. "The United States is so terribly, deeply in trouble when it comes to our national debt that we shouldn't be spending billions of dollars on any country that isn't the United States. I don't want to see a single cent of taxpayer money go outside the United States until we have paid our debts down."
He insisted that his approach was not an attack on Israel. "People think 'Oh, so you support Hamas', 'Oh, you hate Israel.' I hope Hamas gets burned to the ground. I don't hate my neighbor just because I don't want to pay his power bill. If they want to buy rockets from us, let's sell to them. If they want information that we already have, cool."
Herrera said he wanted to invest, not spend: "We shouldn't be spending a cent of taxpayer dollars on anything that is not either an investment or right here in the United States. Preferably both."
Herrera is running in Texas's 23rd District, among the largest districts overall. It is his second run fighting incumbent Ernest Anthony Gonzales II to be the Republican Representative. As part of his campaign trail, Herrera also joined a memorial service for Charlie Kirk, an outspoken supporter of Israel, and encouraged all those present to continue in his path.
Herrera operates or takes part in several online shows with hundreds of thousands of followers on multiple platforms, including a YouTube channel with over 4 million subscribers. He publishes content heavily featuring firearms and the military.