CA Governor Candidate Lambasted For Auschwitz Post: 'Moral Failure'

A 2026 California gubernatorial candidate was scrutinized over the weekend after he posted a photo of himself and Auschwitz, claiming the Nazi concentration camp was his plan for ending homelessness and unemployment.

Republican Kyle Langford shared the photo of himself superimposed in front of the infamous camp on X Friday. "My 0% Unemployment Plan," the caption reads.

The Auschwitz Memorial responded swiftly, posting a screenshot of his post with a statement:

"The instrumentalization of the tragedy of all those imprisoned and murdered in the German Nazi concentration and extermination camp Auschwitz for political messaging is a profound moral failure. Auschwitz is not a prop. @KyleLangfordCA
, your post is an affront to the dignity of the victims and a disturbing display of insensitivity and disregard to horryfying human history."

Behind Langford in the photo, the "Arbeit macht frei" gate can be seen. From German, it translates to "Work makes one free." More than 1.1 million Jews and other imprisoned people were murdered at Auschwitz during World War II.

"Kyle Langford, a declared Republican candidate for Governor in California, posted a tweet mocking the Holocaust — the systematic extermination of six million Jews and millions of others," the European Democratic Party wrote on X. "There are no excuses. This isn’t humour, it’s hatred in disguise. At a time when civilians are dying in the Middle East, such cynicism is obscene. That someone like this could aspire to political office is not just shocking — it’s disgraceful."

Langford posted again on Sunday, doubling down on the controversial post.

"I wasn’t joking, I think it is exactly what is needed to stabilize California and keep people safe," he wrote on X.

One user commented on the Sunday post, calling Langford a fascist.

"Yes, I am," he replied.