Rep Gonzales Accuses Primary Opponent Herrera of Mocking Veteran Suicide

Last updated on August 7th, 2024 at 04:29 pm

Sitting Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX) has accused his Republican primary challenger, a firearms YouTuber named Brandon Herrera, of mocking veterans and making light of veteran suicide.

The Gonzales campaign released an ad on Tuesday, in which U.S. military veterans questioned whether they have Herrera’s support

Every single day our country loses an average of seventeen veterans to suicide. Brandon Herrera thinks this is a joke. #TX23 is home to tens of thousands of veterans and Active Duty servicemembers. They deserve better than Brandon Herrera. pic.twitter.com/dedPnORhEk

— Team Tony (@TonyGonzales4TX) April 30, 2024

“I was awarded the Purple Heart In Iraq, but the war followed me home,” says one veteran in the Gonzales campaign video.

“Veteran suicide is real,” says a second veteran in the campaign video.

“If you listen to Brian Herrera, he thinks that’s a joke,” says the first veteran.

The campaign ad then plays a soundbite of a discussion in which Herrera said, “If it makes everybody in the room feel better. I often think about putting a gun in my mouth. So I’m basically an honorary veteran.”

“Brandon Herrera won’t support veterans; he has no business representing us in Congress,” the second veteran in the video says.

The campaign ad goes on to tout Gonzales’ service in the U.S. Navy, and show clips of military veterans expressing their support for his reelection campaign.

“Every single day our country loses an average of seventeen veterans to suicide. Brandon Herrera thinks this is a joke. #TX23 is home to tens of thousands of veterans and Active Duty servicemembers. They deserve better than Brandon Herrera,” the Gonzales campaign wrote.

Gonzales also recently referred to Herrera as a “known neo-Nazi,” without elaborating further on the accusation.

Why Herrera Mentioned Veteran Suicide

A post sharing the campaign ad on the X social media app (formerly Twitter) is appended with a Community Note providing further context to Herrera’s suicide remarks.

The fact-checking note reveals the clip of Herrera the Gonzales campaign used was from a Feb. 10, 2024 podcast episode he did with several military veterans, including wounded U.S. Army veteran Eli Cuevas.

Herrera began the podcast segment by describing a joke he has told to military veterans and describing growing up in a military community and becoming accustomed to a dark sense of humor. He then recited the joke, “If it makes everybody in the room feel better. I often think about putting it in my mouth. So I’m basically an honorary veteran.” Herrera’s comment elicited laughter from Cuevas and an apparent thumbs up from U.S. Marine veteran Zachary Bell, who was off camera but present for the filming of the podcast episode.

“Every veteran I’ve ever told that joke to laughed their ass off and said ‘you can’t fucking say that,'” Herrera continued.

Veterans Show Herrera Support After Gonzales Ad

Several veteran social media personalities organized their own video in response to the Gonzales campaign ad, expressing their support for Herrera, despite the charge that he “won’t support veterans.”

Contrary to what @TonyGonzales4TX says, @TheAKGuy has a lot of veterans who support him. pic.twitter.com/V8RQlvbQYp

— Donut Operator 🍩 (@DonutOperator) May 1, 2024

Among the veterans sharing their support for Herrera was Army Special Forces veteran, Bronze Star recipient, and former MMA fighter Tim Kennedy. Marine Scout Sniper veteran and Purple Heart recipient Justin Governale also shared his support for Herrera.

Cuevas and Bell also jumped in to share their support for Herrera. In his endorsement, Cuevas waived his Purple Heart medal, which is awarded to those wounded in combat, and joked “I was bad at my job.”

“I’m proud to support Brandon Herrera for District 23,” Bell said. “Long before he decided to run for office. He was out there advocating for all of us and in the veteran military community and now he’s doing so in the biggest way he can.”

Michael Jones, a veteran Air Force survival instructor and Tactical Air Control Party (TAC-P) who runs the firearms and military YouTube channel Garand Thumb, also offered support for Herrera.

Capping off the endorsement video is Cody Garrett, a U.S. Navy veteran and former law enforcement officer who goes by the social media handle Donut Operator.

“Hi, I’m a veteran who supports Brandon Herrera. I just want to say sometimes veterans deal with dark things in their lives with dark humor. That’s just how it is,” Garrett said.

Gonzales faces Herrera in a May 28 runoff, after both candidates received less than the 50 percent support from voters in the initial March 5 primary vote.