The debate over a resolution tied to the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo controversy took an unexpected turn Tuesday when Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis revealed he had initially considered including language criticizing President Donald Trump.<\/p>\n
After Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey called for Hidalgo\u2019s resignation and apology to the rodeo, Ellis told colleagues he had considered adding a clause aimed at Trump as well, referencing president\u2019s \u201cwell-documented pattern of conduct.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI got so much respect for you, Commissioner Ramsey, so I won\u2019t do it,\u201d Ellis said, before explaining why he ultimately withdrew the idea, saying he wanted the focus to remain on honoring the rodeo.<\/p>\n
MORE FROM THE MEETING: \u2018Rodeo was insulted\u2019: Harris County commissioners nix call for Hidalgo\u2019s resignation from resolution after tense debate<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cDepicting former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama as apes, calling Mexican immigrants drug dealers and rapists, enacting a Muslim ban, referring to Somali Americans as garbage, boasting on tape about grabbing women without their consent, being found liable by a federal grand jury, a federal jury for sexual abuse,\u201d Ellis continued. \u201cThis court in the interest of consistency extends its call for resignation and apology to the White House as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Instead of this initial idea, Ellis proposed a narrower motion: to pass the first four \u201cwhereas\u201d statements of the resolution while removing the fifth paragraph, which called for County Judge Lina Hidalgo\u2019s resignation. Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones seconded the motion, which passed.<\/p>\n Ramsey argued that this approach deflected from the issue at hand.<\/p>\n \u201cYou can bring up other politicians and other things. That\u2019s a nice method, I guess,\u201d Ramsey said. \u201cBut really, the issue is the rodeo. And the rodeo was insulted… Can we at least say we don\u2019t agree with she said about the rodeo?\u201d<\/p>\n The vote effectively shifted the resolution\u2019s focus away from holding Hidalgo accountable for a March 10 incident at NRG Stadium, where she alleges she was mistreated by rodeo security, and toward celebrating the contributions of the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo.<\/p>\n The post Ellis was referring to<\/p>\n The post at the center of Ellis\u2019 argument was shared on Truth Social on Feb. 5. It was a 55-second, AI-generated video featuring various politicians depicted as safari animals, with The Tokens\u2019 1961 song \u201cThe Lion Sleeps Tonight\u201d playing in the background.<\/p>\n The video depicted former President Barack Obama and former First Lady Michelle Obama as monkeys.<\/p>\n The post also featured many other public who have been regarded as opponents to Trump such as Hillary Clinton, Gavin Newsom and Whoopi Goldberg\u2014each of whom were also depicted in unflattering ways.<\/p>\n In the bizarre video, Trump himself was depicted as a lion, with a tiny, Trump-likened cartoon of Pepe the Frog walking alongside him. <\/p>\n After the post was met with backlash, President Trump refused to apologize, calling the video \u201ca very strong post [discussing] voter fraud\u201d that illustrated characters from the Lion King.<\/p>\n Trump also confirmed he hadn\u2019t watched the full video before it was posted from his account, saying that his team didn\u2019t know the Obamas were being shown in that manner before the video was posted.<\/p>\n \u201cNobody knew that was at the end,\u201d Trump said the following day.<\/a> \u201cIf they would have looked, they would have seen it, and probably, they would have had the sense to take it down.\u201d<\/p>\n