The Republican Party of Texas found itself playing defense after a committee member from Dallas who helped author the party’s platform declared himself a white nationalist on social media last week.

Ray Myers, a member of the state party’s permanent platform committee, posted an article on Facebook on Nov. 28 captioned “Damn Right, I’m a WHITE NATIONALIST and very Proud of it.”

The article, from right-leaning website Real Clear Politics, was about CNN’s Jim Acosta on speculation that President Donald Trump might secretly be a white supremacist. It was accompanied by a comment from the original sharer, who rejoiced that Trump was, in her view, a white nationalist.

The Texas Observer was the first to report on the post, and Myers made another post on Nov. 30 referring to an interview with the organization. In it, he said his declaration meant he is an "American Patriot who believes in America 1st."

“America first” is often used by Trump to signal a dedication to putting America’s goals before those of other nations.

The president made news with his own controversial statements on nationalism in October, when he twice used the word to describe himself as “someone who loves our country,” and to differentiate himself from "globalists."

Myers echoed some of the same explanations, though his inclusion of the word “white” meant his own statement used a phrase tied directly to racist, white supremacist movements.

Myers, 74, told the Observer there could be nothing wrong with proclaiming white nationalism because other races are proud of their racial heritage as well.

"We're just patriotic Americans, just like anybody else," Myers told the Observer. "I'm a tea party guy and I've got brown and black and American Indians in our tea parties."

The state Republican Party's 2018 platform embraces planks such as the repeal of hate crime laws, abolishing the refugee resettlement program, no amnesty on immigration, English-only ballots and the use of profiling to fight terrorism.

When asked for comment, a spokesperson for the state Republican Party referred the Observer to a nondiscrimination resolution passed by the party Sunday.

The resolution declared a commitment to protecting religious liberty, published in the wake of an ongoing effort to oust a Muslim party official in Tarrant County.