Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, ignited another viral moment on Wednesday with a pointed rebuke of progressive orthodoxy during his speech at the Republican midterm convention and he makes clear he has no regrets.
Opening his remarks, Gill adopted the format of a land acknowledgment, a ritual increasingly favored by Democratic politicians who preface events by reciting the names of Native American tribes once present in the area. According to Fox News, Gill instead used the moment to honor the Americans who built and defended the nation, declaring, "I'd like to acknowledge that we stand here today in the great state of Texas and the United States of America is the ancestral homeland of great American patriots, pioneers and explorers who put down roots, fight for freedom all over the globe and bled and died to build the greatest civilization ever known to man," drawing a thunderous response from the Republican audience.
He later told Fox News Digital that the gesture was a deliberate pushback against the lefts narrative about American history and identity. "Listen, you see Democrats all the time wanting to begin their conventions or their gatherings by acknowledging, making some bizarre land acknowledgment that we live on stolen land, and they essentially just want to apologize for our country," Gill said.
Gill argued that this posture is out of step with the instincts of ordinary citizens who remain proud of their country despite constant attempts to paint it as irredeemably flawed. "I think most Americans believe, rightfully so, that we live in the greatest country that's ever existed, and I'm not going to apologize for itcertainly most Americans don't want their elected officials apologizing for it either."
His comments came after a Michigan Democratic Party official drew widespread mockery on the right for mangling the names of tribes during her own land acknowledgment, a misstep critics saw as empty virtue signaling. Similar acknowledgments were also delivered in Corpus Christi, Texas, where state Democrats gathered for their nominating convention, underscoring how this progressive ritual has spread even as conservatives like Gill challenge its premise and its execution.
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