Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) expressed disappointment in a friend of 20 years who “exploited” him by leaking his texts critiquing his party.
The texts were leaked to Human Events on Tuesday, and Gallego confirmed they were authentic. It is unclear when the correspondence took place.
“Oh man have you met my party ? I have been yelling at them this whole time,” Gallego wrote in the text. Screenshots of the exchange circulated on X.
“We look like the not fun party. Always telling and correcting people. Not allowing men to be men. Women to be hot. We used to be the party of sec [sic] drugs and rock and roll,” Gallego wrote. “Now Dem women look like Dem men and Dem men look like women.”
Gallego largely stood by the texts in a Wednesday interview on ABC News.
“I mean, it’s very heartbreaking that someone that I served with and I’ve known and been really good friends with for 20 years decided to leak some of these messages,” Gallego said.
“But I’ve been very clear about where I think the party used to be,” he added. “I do think we have to be an open and bigger tent party, and so this is just a reflection of everything I’ve said.”
“I’m more sad about the situation that a friend of mine decided to exploit the situation. But it’s a reflection of what I’ve been saying the whole time,” Gallego added.
Gallego was notably not in a video featuring Democratic veterans in Congress, despite his colleague, Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ), being in it. The video encouraged military members to “disobey illegal orders.” While Gallego did not comment on the video, when President Donald Trump suggested it was an example of “seditious behavior, punishable by death,” Gallego spoke out.
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“The military is not your toy. Service members swore an oath to the Constitution. If that feels like an attack to you, that’s not a loyalty issue. That’s a you issue,” Gallego wrote on X.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Gallego and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) for comment.