Screenshot, X @MattWalshBlog / Gage Skidmore from Peoria, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons, Cropped by Resist the Mainstream

Matt Walsh has condemned Texas Governor Greg Abbott's recent executive order which purports to target antisemitism, providing his analysis that the order was both redundant and “un-American.”

Governor Greg Abbott of Texas issued an executive order on Wednesday, describing the initiative as a response to “radical organizations on our campuses engaged in acts that have no place in Texas.”

“Now, we must work to ensure that our college campuses are safe spaces for members of the Jewish community,” Abbott said in a press release accompanying the order.

However, Matt Walsh expressed his disapprobation of the measure in a video on X, highlighting its potentially deleterious effects on free speech.

Walsh begins by praising Abbott for his measures to protect the southern border, before playing a clip from an ACLU Zoom call criticizing the measure.

“Governor Greg Abbott here has committed the ultimate sin: He has forced me to agree with a woman from the ACLU with pronouns next to her name,” Walsh quipped, agreeing with the ACLU's assertion that the order is a straightforward case of viewpoint discrimination.

Walsh goes further, highlighting the perceived incongruity between Abbott's criticism of “safe spaces” in the university system with his signing of the executive order, which Walsh describes as “an executive order mandating colleges to be safe spaces.”

The executive order outlines specific actions for public colleges and universities within Texas. They are tasked with reviewing their free speech policies to ensure they contain provisions for dealing with antisemitic rhetoric. Additionally, these institutions must enforce these policies effectively and incorporate a definition of antisemitism.

To bolster security for Jewish organizations, Abbott is allocating over $4 million in grant funding. He is also directing state agencies to halt any transactions with entities associated with the Gaza Strip or Hamas and is encouraging educational lessons on the Israel-Hamas conflict across Texas schools.

“Antisemitism is never acceptable in Texas, and we will do everything we can to fight it,” Abbott said. The executive order has received support from the Combat Antisemitism Movement, with CEO Sacha Roytman highlighting the effectiveness of including the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s definition of antisemitism in campus policies.

Walsh's video is notable in light of the continuing controversies surrounding Candace Owens' exit from the Daily Wire, centering around Owens' criticisms of Israel and supposedly antisemitic speech.