Republican Candidate Keeps Stealing Other People’s Food Photos, Calling Them Hers

U.S. House candidate Mayra Flores got caught up in a sticky situation on Wednesday when it became apparent that the Mexican-born politician has been ripping and reposting photos of Mexican food from other online accounts, all while claiming it as her own cooking.

The Texas Republican, who is running again for the seat she previously held from 2022 to 2023 representing Texas’s 34th congressional district, was called out in several posts on Twitter that tied photos of self-proclaimed, self-made grub from her Instagram account to other sources online.

“The ranch life with family is the best,” Flores captioned one photo of corn flour gorditas cooking over a wood-burning fire pit, although the photo was posted more than a year earlier to a Guyana tourism Facebook page.

In another post sharing a photo of eggs and tortillas, Flores claimed she was a “proud Latina who knows how to cook,” adding that “homemade Mexican food tastes better from a gas stove.”

Except that photo too was ripped from another source and was originally posted on Facebook in 2021 by Izabal magazine.

Flores has deleted at least one of the stolen photos since online sleuths began taking note.

In a text messaged statement, Flores told the The Texas Tribune it wasn’t her “intention to mislead.”

“The photo simply reminded me of my upbringing in Mexico and childhood,” she added. “I deleted the tweet to clear up any confusion. I actually spend my Christmas at ranch with my In-Laws. Happy New Year!”

When asked to specify which photos she was referring to, Flores told the Tribune to turn its attention toward the border.

It’s a strange twist for a politician who previously accused first lady Jill Biden of allegedly believing you can win over Latinos with food.

“[Democrats] think that by giving us tacos, playing Latin music, that’s all it’s going to take for us to vote for them. It’s not,” Flores told Fox Business in August 2022.