Randy Fine faces backlash after saying ‘We don’t want Armenians’ in Congress
Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) is drawing criticism from Armenian Americans after he said he doesn’t want Armenians serving in Congress. In remarks targeting his opponent Dan Bilzerian, Fine framed Bilzerian as an especially dangerous antisemite and argued that Fine’s “little Armenian” constituents wouldn’t accept comments like Bilzerian’s about President Trump as acceptable political arguments in the U.S., where Fine said it wouldn’t “work.”
The comment triggered a backlash, including condemnation from the Armenian National Commitee of America, which linked Fine’s remarks to his views regarding Azerbaijan in the ongoing Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. Several lawmakers and Armenian American public figures also called for Fine to be censured, pointing to the long history of prejudice against Armenians.
Bilzerian responded quickly to Fine, using anti-Jewish attacks and gaining support from Marjorie Taylor Greene, who defended Bilzerian and referenced his past remarks expressing hostility toward Judaism. the article further notes Bilzerian’s record of anti-Jewish statements, including claims that downplayed or questioned the Holocaust.
Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL) is under fire from Armenian Americans after saying he doesn’t want Armenians serving in Congress.
Fine entered office after winning a special election last year and has since made a name for himself with an over-the-top presence on social media. In an appearance on the Jenny Beth Show, Fine addressed his primary challenger, Dan Bilzerian, who he said was ranked at the top of a list of the most dangerous antisemites.
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“He’s got a very large social media following, not from Florida,” Fine said. “He lives in Las Vegas when he’s not in his, in his, in his foreign country of Armenia, but, but, you know, he’s just a terrible antisemite. I think what he’s trying to show is that there’s this group of hate-filled lunatics and losers that can take hold in the Republican Party.”
“But look, my constituents are smart,” he continued. “The little Armenian said, ‘I think that President Trump was a pedophile rapist who should be impeached.’ That’s not a winning argument, and that may work in Armenia, where he’s from, but that’s not an argument that’s going to work in the United States.”
“We have to take it seriously, because we don’t want this to take root in our party,” Fine concluded.
“We don’t want Armenians to be able to serve in Congress.”
His final comment sparked a firestorm among Armenian Americans, who connected his comments with historical bigotry against Armenians. The Armenian National Committee of America, one of the leading Armenian advocacy groups in the United States, connected his comments to his support of Azerbaijan, which is locked in a decadeslong conflict with Armenia.
“The ANCA condemns this racist anti-Armenian rant by US Rep. Randy Fine (R-FL), cosponsor of a reckless Congressional resolution to ship US arms and aid to genocidal Azerbaijan,” the ANCA said in a statement.
“Racist attacks against Armenians are not ‘opinions’—they’re part of a long, dangerous history of dehumanization,” Armenian American communications strategist Stephan Pechdimaldji said in response to the video, calling for Fine to be censured. “Anti-Armenian hatred has fueled violence, erasure, and even genocide. Amplifying that rhetoric today is not just offensive—it’s reckless and harmful.”
Ana Kasparian, an Armenian American host of the progressive news organization The Young Turks, was harsher in her response.
“No, we’d only want grotesque, gluttons for civilian slaughter like him in Congress, right?” she said.
The backlash even reached Congress, with some lawmakers calling for Fine to be censured over the remark.
“I stand with my Armenian American constituents in condemning this ugly bigotry,” Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA) said.
As for Bilzerian, he was quick to respond with anti-Jewish attacks against Fine, replying to the clip of his controversial comments, “The jew is scared.”
Bilzerian won support from former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who favorably responded to an interview Bilzerian had with Piers Morgan during which he voiced his strong dislike of Judaism.
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“Randy is Israel first, jew second and America last,” Bilzerian said in response. “He always votes to send our taxes to Israel and he’s got the Israeli flag raised higher than the American flag in his office.”
Bilzerian has been open in his anti-Jewish views, going so far as to deny or downplay the Holocaust. In his interview with Morgan in 2024, he said “would bet [his] entire net worth” that the number of Jews killed in the Holocaust was “under 6 million,” and that “the mathematics don’t work.” He claimed that Jews “basically invented genocide.”
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