ROOKE: It Hasn’t Even Been Two Years And The Right Is Already Forgetting Lessons Learned During Biden Years

At first glance, one wouldn’t think that viral stories about a college kid and a Jewish employer, a UFC fighter, and the San Francisco Giants’ “pride” night have anything in common, but they are all symptoms of the same disease.

The height of cancel culture occurred during the George Floyd riots. It started off just being about race, but eventually bled into any perceived “wrongthink” about sexual ideologies, election results, Covid hysteria, and political leanings. No one was safe from the left’s attacks.

During the Biden Administration, thousands of Americans were unjustly persecuted by the regime. Pro-life advocates had their homes swarmed by squads of armed federal agents. Families were destroyed when parents lost their jobs or were thrown in prison. People’s lives were ruined because they didn’t subscribe to the “approved” narrative. The right promised they’d never fall into the trap of cancerous cancellations, and yet, less than two years after the left lost power, that’s exactly what they are doing, and once again, innocent people are being caught in the crossfire. (Sign up for Mary Rooke’s weekly newsletter here!)

Austin Franco, a 19-year-old Cornell University student, turned down a summer internship interview with a Jewish-owned NYC startup because he did not want to work for Jews. The potential employer, Gabe Einhorn, shared a screenshot of the exchange on X, and the story went viral. People were rightly shocked at Franco’s reasoning. However, that shock has turned into a murder hornet storm of backlash from the right that isn’t just affecting the 19-year-old college student.

Unfortunately, there is a separate Austin Franco, who is a trial attorney based in Texas, and the people with pitchforks are attacking his law practice and social media accounts. They are falsely accusing him of being the Cornell student in question, forcing him to beg people to stop confusing the two men.

“I recently found out that I share the same first and last name with a 19 year old student at Cornell who is going viral (over ten million views across twitter and other platforms) for anti-Semitic comments that he made (and continues to make) to a prospective-employer,” Austin Franco from Texas said.

“My social media (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn) and law firm email address are being blown up by people understandably angry at this other Austin Franco. None of the posts cross any legal lines, but unfortunately there have been comments and emails talking about me, my firm, my parents, etc.,” he continued.

“To make matters worse, the undergraduate looks just enough like me to be confusing, and the NY Post, Fox News, and other publications, have written about it with his image as the article cover,” he added.

I recently found out that I share the same first and last name with a 19 year old student at Cornell who is going viral (over ten million views across twitter and other platforms) for anti-Semitic comments that he made (and continues to make) to a prospective-employer.

My social… pic.twitter.com/w9UttxcaLs

— Austin Franco (@austinrfranco) June 15, 2026

The media, including several supposed conservative or right-leaning outlets, have covered the story extensively, unwittingly making the Texas Austin Franco the villain in this story.

Similarly, the right has also decided to denounce UFC heavyweight fighter Josh Hokit, who made the remark “Michelle Obama is a man,” during a post-fight interview right after winning his bout at the UFC Freedom 250 event on the White House lawn Sunday night. Many on the right have come out denouncing Hokit, including South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham.

It was a stupid comment made about a former first lady, which is based on a viral meme the right has played with for years. But the fundamental silliness of the whole affair hasn’t stopped the media from demanding Trump denounce the comment and Hokit from making it.

And absolutely none of this is any different from what is happening to the San Francisco Giants’ players who wrote Bible verses on their hats in quiet protest against the mandatory participation in MLB’s pride night. They were attacked by the media and activists who wanted to see their careers ruined for not subscribing to the official narrative.

When Trump came back into office, Americans collectively told the cancel culture vultures that this level of hysteria was never going to happen again. It almost destroyed our nation, physically and spiritually. Our cities were burned to the ground. Churches were attacked. And innocent Americans were turned into untouchables.

Have we really already forgotten? Is our memory of what it was like living under the oppression that bad?

This is America. We are allowed to have differing opinions about what is right or wrong. This isn’t to say we can’t fight back against someone forcing their ideologies onto the collective, but the moment the right picks up the pitchforks and becomes no better than the left, we’ve lost our way. (ROOKE: America’s Becoming Less Gay Just As Prominent Mayor Declares Her City The ‘Gayest’ In World)

The right doesn’t have to stand behind someone who is in the wrong, but they should never feel so emboldened to join the mob. We know firsthand that mob rule always ends up consuming everyone.

Follow Mary Rooke on X: @MaryRooke

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