Texas Rep. Gene Wu Sparks Backlash After Urging Minority Groups to Unite Against ‘Shared Oppressor’

HOUSTON, Texas — Texas State Representative Gene Wu (D-Houston) is drawing widespread criticism after a video clip resurfaced in which he called on Latino, African American, Asian, and other minority communities to recognize their “shared oppressor” and leverage their demographic majority to gain political power.

Wu, who chairs the Texas House Democratic Caucus and represents a predominantly non-white district in Houston, made the comments during a podcast interview with Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas. In the discussion, which focused on immigration, race, and political power, Wu argued that divisions among minority groups have been deliberately fostered to prevent them from succeeding at the ballot box.

“The day the Latino, African American, Asian, and other communities realize that they share the same oppressor is the day we start winning, because we are the majority in this country now. We have the ability to take over this country and to do what is needed for everyone and to make things fair,” Wu said in the clip.

He added that “the powers that be” have worked to keep these groups divided as competitors rather than allies, and he highlighted how the Black civil rights movement helped secure gains for Asian Americans while criticizing the “model minority” myth for pitting communities against one another.

The remarks, originally made in late 2024 or early 2025 but recently amplified online, spread quickly in conservative media and on social platforms. Prominent figures, including U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz and commentator Matt Walsh, condemned the language, accusing Wu of anti-white rhetoric and highlighting what they described as a double standard in public discourse around race.

Critics have called the comments inflammatory and divisive, with some demanding Wu’s resignation and arguing that they promote a racial power struggle rather than national unity.

Supporters, however, frame the statement as a legitimate call for coalition-building and solidarity to address historical inequities. They view it as encouragement for minority voters to organize politically and push for fairer policies through democratic means.

Wu’s office has not issued a statement in response to the backlash as of the latest update.

The controversy arrives amid ongoing debates in Texas and nationally over demographic change, identity politics, and how elected officials discuss race and power. Wu, a first-generation immigrant born in China, has long advocated for immigrant rights and progressive causes in the Texas Legislature.