Outspoken Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) has become the subject of controversy after making a comment that Republicans believe was meant to mock Texas Gov. Greg Abbott’s (R) use of a wheelchair. Crockett said she was misunderstood.
While speaking at a Human Rights Campaign dinner in Los Angeles on Saturday, Crockett made an offhand comment calling Abbott “Governor Hot Wheels.”
“We in these hot-**s Texas streets honey,” she said, “y’all know we got Governor Hot Wheels down there, come on now. And the only thing hot about him is that he’s a hot-**s mess, honey.”
Abbott, 67, has been paralyzed from the waist down since the age of 26, when a tree fell on him while he was out for a jog. Crockett, however, denies she was mocking his disability and slammed Republicans for suddenly claiming to care about respecting others.
“I was not thinking about the governor’s condition,” she said in a statement. “I was thinking about the planes, trains, and automobiles he used to transfer migrants to communities run by Black mayors and stoke tensions and fear among the most vulnerable.”
“Literally the next line I said was that he was a Hot A** Mess referencing his terrible policies. NEVER at any time did I reference his condition. So, now, I am even more appalled that the people that unequivocally support Trump, who is known for racially insensitive nicknames & mocking the uniquely abled are outraged.”
“Keep this energy up for all people, not just your political adversaries. Finally, this is yet another distraction. Instead of obsessing & hanging on my every word, maybe my political foes should focus on the work of the people that elected us to better their lives.”
Crockett then posted a link to a 2024 article from The Texas Tribune reporting that the state had spent more than $148 million busing migrants to other states. The article said that in a span of two years, Texas moved 102,000 migrants to Los Angeles, D.C., Denver, Philadelphia, Chicago, and New York.
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Rep. Randy Weber (R-TX) posted that he plans to introduce a bill to censure Crockett for the comments. “This kind of rhetoric has no place in Congress,” he wrote.
Crockett is known for being a fiercely outspoken defender of progressive values. In February, she made headlines for her blunt two-word response to what she would say directly to Elon Musk if she had the chance: “F**k off.”
She did not mince words when speaking to a reporter about the president’s recent (and many would say dystopian) address to Congress.