Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) posted a campaign video on X in which she crushed fortune cookies with her hands while promising to “stop Communist China.” The video seems to be a part of her campaign for the Tennessee gubernatorial race. In the video, Blackburn is seen sitting at a table in what appears to be a Chinese restaurant setting, with takeout boxes and lanterns visible in the background. She looked into the camera and said, “How hard am I gonna crack down on China? Well, here’s a clue,” before breaking several fortune cookies apart and letting the pieces fall onto the table. A narrator’s voice played over the footage, saying, “Marsha Blackburn worked with President [Donald] Trump to take on Communist China. As governor, Marsha will fight to protect Tennessee land from Chinese front companies, close loopholes, and hunt down every Communist who tries to defy us.” Fortune cookies are widely believed to have originated in California, not China, and the beckoning cat figurine is Japanese in origin Blackburn then concluded the video by saying, “It doesn’t take a fortune cookie to figure it out. Here in Tennessee, we’re gonna stop Communist China and protect Tennessee land.” The video ended with the sound of a gong and an image of a maneki-neko, a “beckoning cat” figurine commonly associated with Chinatowns around the world. It doesn’t take a fortune cookie to figure it out…As your governor, I’ll continue to work with President Trump to STOP Communist China and PROTECT Tennessee land. pic.twitter.com/XHAJb3OOu1— Marsha Blackburn (@VoteMarsha) July 8, 2026 Mediaite highlights that the choice of fortune cookies as a symbol of China is disputed by food historians. The outlet also states that fortune cookies are believed to have originated in California, not China, despite their strong association with Chinese restaurants across the United States. The exact origin of the fortune cookie remains a matter of historical debate. SF Heritage credits Japanese immigrant Makoto Hagiwara with popularizing the modern fortune cookie at San Francisco’s Japanese Tea Garden in the early 20th century. A competing claim has long been associated with a Chinese-American baker in Los Angeles. According to the Library of Congress, a 1983 “Court of Historical Review” in San Francisco symbolically ruled in Hagiwara’s favor. The maneki-neko figurine shown at the end of the video also does not seem to be Chinese in origin. According to National Geographic, the beckoning cat is Japanese, though it is commonly sold in Chinatowns around the world. Blackburn is currently running in the Republican gubernatorial primary in Tennessee against Rep. John Rose (R-TN). According to reports, more than $1 million in new PAC ads have aired featuring clips of President Donald Trump praising Blackburn. However, Trump reportedly said he will not make an endorsement in the primary between the two candidates. This dynamic is notable given Trump’s past praise for Xi Jinping’s physique. The ad appears to be an effort by Blackburn to align herself with Trump’s stance on China, a position she has highlighted throughout her campaign. The narrator in the video said she previously “worked with President Trump to take on Communist China.” This rhetoric contrasts with the economic reality for some Trump voters who lost jobs to China. Blackburn has served as a U.S. senator from Tennessee since 2019 and is now seeking the governorship of the state. The Tennessee gubernatorial primary is expected to be competitive. Both Blackburn and Rose are seeking the Republican nomination, and the race has drawn national attention in part due to its connection to Trump and his ongoing influence over Republican primaries across the country.