Fresno City Council member outraged after colleague compared Trump supporters to Nazis
Fresno Councilmember Esmeralda Soria said Tuesday she was razzing a friend when she commented on Facebook last month comparing former President Donald Trump supporters to Nazis, but the post has drawn ire.
The initial Facebook post from Jan. 14 made fun of Democrats, calling them “Dumb-ocrats,” and came from a Fresno Republican who Soria called a friend.
Soria, who is a Democrat, responded to the post with, “I’ll take that over being a Trumplican, Naziclan or Racistclan — they are all one and the same.”
That comment prompted a response from conservative Fresno Councilmember Garry Bredefeld on Facebook.
“This is similar rhetoric from the extreme Left that call Republicans and Conservatives white supremacists, deplorables and now domestic terrorists. They call for Trump supporters to be ‘cleansed’ and ‘deprogrammed,’” Bredefeld wrote.
“This language is extremely dangerous. When will the media and Democrats condemn this hateful rhetoric?”
Soria elaborates on post
Soria on Tuesday said the response from her detractors to her post was “disingenuous” and wrote it off as a publicity stunt by Bredefeld.
“I think they’re trying to make a lighthearted remark with my Republican friend fit their narrative,” she said. “This is the same guy who for the past four years has spent time attacking people personally.”
Soria’s Facebook friend could not be immediately reached to confirm what she said. Soria went on to say Bredefeld appeared Tuesday on KMJ radio and made personal attacks about council colleagues.
“They’re not interested in public discourse,” she said. “They’re not trying to unite the community. You can’t cleanse hate with hate.”
Bredefeld, responding to Soria on Tuesday, made a similar charge against her, saying the Facebook comment does nothing to bring unity. He said Tuesday he was on KMJ but did not make any personal attacks.
“Councilmember Soria refuses to accept responsibility and minimizes her horrific accusations comparing Trump supporters to Nazis and racists,” he said. “It’s no joking matter to the families of millions of Jews, LGBT and people from all over the world that were murdered in concentration camps.”
Bredefeld went on to say Soria is involved in “cancel culture” because she supported the city’s review of potentially problematically named public places.
The City Council will review the names of Chandler Executive Airport and the Meux Home after the Historic Preservation Commission flagged them. The properties are named after a state senator who voted against women’s suffrage and a Confederate soldier, respectively.
“She constantly pits north Fresno against south Fresno and engages in identity politics nearly every council meeting,” Bredefeld said. “She should immediately apologize and stop defending the indefensible.”
