Leaked texts from Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) showed him insulting the looks and gender presentation of his congressional colleagues and Democratic voters.

The texts between Gallego and an unnamed friend of 20 years discussed public perception of the Democratic Party and the party’s future. The friend wrote “This is how the world views many [Democrats],” and shared a meme of Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), who often has short purple-dyed hair, which had superimposed text reading, “If erectile dysfunction had a face.”

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Gallego replied, “They aren’t wrong!” and later wrote, “We look like the not fun party. Always telling and correcting people. Not allowing men to be men. Women to be hot. We used to be the party of sec [sic] drugs and rock and roll… Now Dem women look like Dem men and Dem men look like women.”

Gallego didn’t deny the messages, according to People magazine, but called it “heartbreaking” and “sad” that his friend had shared them.

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He called the messages “a reflection of what I’ve been saying the whole time,” adding, “I’ve been very clear about where I think the party needs to be. I do think we have to be an open and bigger tent party. So this is just a reflection of what I think I’ve said,” he said, adding that the party was “not as inclusive as it should be.”

Gallego is a pro-LBGTQ+ ally who has consistently opposed anti-LGBTQ+ legislation. He is also a former vice-chair of the Congressional LGBT Equality Caucus.

However, he has previously said that he was “concerned” about transgender athletes competing in girls’ and women’s sports, telling trans girls, “We love you. We want you to be part of our community, but this is just the one place you can’t play.” 

Trans journalist Erin Reed criticized Gallego’s messages, writing, “His messages do not reflect a genuine concern for the challenges facing American men, nor do they offer a blueprint for Democrats to win by mirroring the right’s hostility toward gender variance. They reflect the same tired, corrosive rhetoric we have come to expect from the far right, and we should not accept it simply because it’s coming from within our own coalition.”

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