Texas GOP Rep. Brandon Gill mocks Democrats' land acknowledgments in his midterm convention speech

Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, offered a different type of land acknowledgment in his speech Wednesday at the Republican midterm convention. 

Rather than follow the Democratic script in which politicians begin speeches by acknowledging the land they're standing on was historically inhabited by Native Americans, Gill acknowledged "American patriots." 

"I'd like to acknowledge that we stand here today in the great state of Texas and the United States of America is the ancestral homeland of great American patriots, pioneers and explorers who put down roots, fight for freedom all over the globe and bled and died to build the greatest civilization ever known to man," Gill said. 

After the speech, Gill told Fox News that the statement was his way of pushing back against Democrats' "bizarre land acknowledgments," which he said is meant to "apologize for our country." 

"I think most Americans believe, rightfully so, that we live in the greatest country that's ever existed, and I'm not going to apologize for it," Gill told Fox.