Florida Republican defends tweeting quote from Spanish dictator Francisco Franco

State lawmaker spoke at a nationals conference earlier this year

Francisco Franco and Anthony Sabatini (Getty/Florida House of Representatives )

A Republican state congressman in Florida raised eyebrows when he shared a quote from fascist Spanish dictator Francisco Franco on Twitter.

On Thursday, Anthony Sabatini – a member of the Florida House of Representatives – shared a quote to his Twitter page from Franco, who ruled Spain from 1939 until 1975.

“I answer only to God and to History,” Mr Sabatini wrote, quoting the dictator, who seized power after winning the Spanish Civil War.

Some said they found it shocking that an elected representative would quote one of the 20th century’s most notorious figures.

Mark Yzaguirre, a lawyer, said "admiring a fascist dictator offends God and History."

Walter Shaub, a senior ethics fellow at the Project on Government Oversight, also found the tweet disturbing.

"You are quoting a vicious fascist dictator and revealing your true vision for destroying American democracy," Mr Shaub wrote.

Franco was a general who took power after the Nationalists overthrew the Second Spanish Republic during the Spanish Civil War.

During World War II Spain remained officially neutral, but Franco supported the Axis powers largely because Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler supported his Nationalist forces during the Spanish Civil War.

Mr Sabatini defended his tweet by posting a photo of former US President Dwight D Eisenhower and Franco together during the former’s visit to Madrid along with a message lashing out at his critics.

"Anyone who criticised the above tweet is extremely un-American," he wrote.

Earlier this year, Mr Sabatini spoke at the American Virtue conference to praise the idea of nationalism, Florida Politics reports.

"God bless the nationalist populist movement," he said during his speech.

During his speech, he said that Republicans who vote to provide aid to Ukraine as it fights Russia’s invasion should be primaried.

“The future of the Republican Party is a party of peace and prosperity, and that means no more meddling in European affairs when they don’t directly address the interest of the American people,” he said.

He envisioned a future Republican party led by nationalists.

“This is a seed that’s just been planted,” he said. “It’s only going to be a few years before we take over the Republican Party but the work that remains before us is work. That must be done before anything can happen. We are still a minority within the GOP. The GOP is still full of empty suit establishment Republicans that really hate our country.”

He also complained about the adoption of Juneteenth — which celebrates the end of slavery in America — as a national holiday.

“We need to repeal the Juneteenth holiday that the woke Congress passed last year,” he said. “That’s non-negotiable. No more woke holidays. It’s time to go back to the Fourth of July.”