Representative Mayra Flores (R., Texas.) responded to a New York Times article labeling the newly-minted legislator a “far-right Latina” on Wednesday, arguing that the media attacks her because of her conservative values and that the paper knows “nothing” about her.
“It amazes me that because my values are rooted in God, Family, and Country, the liberal media takes it upon themselves to attack me and label me ‘far-right’. But at least they used the word ‘Latina’ over their other made-up terms. Seguimos Adelante!” Flores said in a statement on Twitter.
In the article, reporter Jennifer Medina calls Flores, along with congressional candidates Monica De La Cruz and Cassy Garcia, part of a “far-right Latina” movement in Texas, lumping them together as a result of their ethnicity and “right-wing views on immigration, the 2020 election and abortion, among other issues.”
Flores, who won a special election held in a historically Democratic, majority-Hispanic district last month, said the paper is motivated by “political power” and knows “nothing” about her or her “culture.”
“They don’t support us immigrants, they only use us for political power and don’t care about our well-being. I am here now and I won’t allow them to continue taking advantage of my people. The NYT knows nothing about me or our culture,” she said in a statement to Fox News.
Medina cited Flores’ support of Donald Trump, her refusal to directly answer if Joe Biden was legitimately elected, and her tweeting “QAnon hashtags” — as well as her mainstream conservative positions on issues like immigration and abortion — as evidence of Flores’s extremism.
Flores responded to the criticism surrounding her references to QAnon hashtags during an interview with Fox News last month. During that conversation, Flores dismissed their importance, claimed that she was actually expressing her opposition to the conspiracy theory, and said that she has never believed “this nonsense.” Flores also once retweeted a post that called the January 6 Capitol riot a “setup” perpetrated by Antifa.
When pressed about the inclusion of the hashtags, Flores urged her interviewers to “stay focused” on the issues important to Americans, such as inflation.
Garcia also responded to the article, calling it a “smear.”
“When the Radical Left smears me for my faith and supporting school choice, they’re not just attacking me. They’re attacking millions of Hispanic families and my community. #TX28 I will never stop fighting for our values,” Garcia said on Twitter.
Flores’s term in office runs for six months. She is campaigning for a full term in the upcoming November election.