On Monday, Selena Gomez posted and quickly took down an emotional video reacting to the sweeping ICE immigration raids ordered by the Trump administration. Naturally, the response from Republicans has been vile — speaking about the video on Fox News, Trump’s border czar Tom Homan said, “If they don’t like it, then go to Congress and change the law.” Meanwhile, one failed U.S. Senate candidate, Sam Parker, called extra attention to himself by declaring that Gomez should be deported, despite the fact that she is an American citizen.
“Deport Selena Gomez,” Parker tweeted. He also reposted a screed from his personal account that claimed “Selena Gomez picked illegals over America” and accused her of having an “entitlement attitude toward America” because of how her grandparents got citizenship in the ’80s.
Undeterred by the community note that was added to his post clarifying that Gomez is an American citizen and cannot be deported — “Inject their tears into my VEINS,” he wrote of anyone who wanted to correct him — Parker continued to post about Gomez for much of Monday.
Who is Sam Parker, you may or may not be wondering? Though his handle is @SamParkerSenate, it appears he ran for a Utah Senate seat once in 2018 and lost to Mitt Romney. Beyond that, he seems to spend a lot of time posting his political opinions on social media.
As for Gomez, it seems like she is taking all this in stride. A few hours into Parker’s X rampage, Gomez responded on Instagram. “Oh, Mr. Parker, Mr. Parker,” she wrote on her stories. “Thanks for the laugh and the threat.” Parker, in turn, proudly pinned her response to the top of his X profile and wrote, “American Nationalism is back.” Seems like he’s enjoying his time in the spotlight.