Rep. Randy Fine, R-Fla., prompted calls for his resignation from Democrats and a major Islamic civil rights group after suggesting in a social media post that he'd choose dogs over Muslims.
"If they force us to choose, the choice between dogs and Muslims is not a difficult one," Fine posted to the social media platform X on Sunday.
Shortly afterward, he added a photo of a post from Nerdeen Kiswani, the co-founder of the pro-Palestinian group "Within Our Lifetime," in which she called dogs "unclean" and said that "NYC is coming to Islam." Kiswani later told NBC News in an email she made the comment satirically.
Fine wrote in the follow-up post, "For context, this is the leader of one of the key mainstream Muslim groups that supported Mamdani," referring to Zohran Mamdani, New York City's new mayor.
Fine's initial post sparked a parade of criticism and a handful of calls for him to resign.
In a statement, the Council on American-Islamic Relations pointed to its previous condemnation's of Fine's past comments on Gaza and Hamas, adding that "leaders of Congress across the political spectrum should demand his resignation, which is long overdue.”
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., in a statement called Fine "an Islamophobic, disgusting and unrepentant bigot."
"It is unacceptable that Mike Johnson and House Republicans continue to remain silent. Their casual acceptance of hateful and divisive language enables this out-of-control behavior. Republican leaders must hold this so-called Member of Congress accountable," he said. "Political violence, xenophobia and hate crimes against the Muslim community are on the rise. House Democrats will not let the racist and bigoted behavior of Randy Fine go unchecked. Accountability is coming to all of these sick extremists when the gavels change hands in November, if not sooner."
Rep. Robert Garcia, D-Calif., called the post "disgusting Islamophobia and dangerous bigotry," adding that "he should be forced to resign" after his committee assignments are stripped from him.
Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., called for House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to "reprimand him immediately," adding that he's "repeatedly dehumanized Muslims without consequence."
California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom responded to Fine on X, writing, “Resign now, you racist slob.”
Kiswani replied to her own message from two days earlier by evoking Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem’s comments in her 2024 book about killing a dog on her farm.
“Kristi Noem literally bragged about shooting her own dog and most of you did not bat an eyelash. A Muslim in NYC says maybe the city is not the best place for pets and it is days of death threats from MAGA and Zionists,” she wrote.
Kiswani told NBC News in an email that her original comment was “satire” based on a “hyper local NYC conversation” about dog waste in the city after the recent snow storm, adding she was “satirizing Islamophobic hysteria portraying Mamdani’s mayoralty as a societal takeover.”
She went on to accuse Fine of having a “documented pattern of dehumanizing Palestinians and Muslims” and said that “there has been a troubling pattern in which anti Muslim and anti Palestinian rhetoric from elected officials has not been met with the level of accountability we would expect if almost any other community were discussed this way.”
Fine’s and Johnson's offices did not immediately respond to NBC News' requests for comment.
Fine hasn’t balked amid the criticism. He continued to double down on his original comments Tuesday in an interview on conservative media outlet Newsmax. "My post was in response to a major Muslim leader saying dogs should be forbidden from New York City because to some Muslims, it bothers them. Well if they're going to make us choose between our dogs and them going home, the choice is easy," he said, sharing the clip on his X account.
Fine also repeatedly posted images on X of dogs on a bright yellow background over the words "Don't Tread On Me," styled to resemble the Gadsden flag, iconography that dates back to the Revolutionary War. He replied to a critical message from broadcaster Piers Morgan by writing that "what is disgusting is a major NYC Muslim leader saying we must give up our dogs because 'NYC is coming to Islam.'"
"We will not be shamed into being conquered like the Europeans," Fine added.
The Republican congressman, who took office less than a year ago in a special election, is an ardent supporter of Israel who has repeatedly defended the country's conduct during its war with Hamas in Gaza. He also faced criticism, including from then-Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., for posting on X last year that until Hamas released Israeli hostages, Gazans should "starve away."
