Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett facing censure for comments against Gov. Abbott
Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett facing backlash for comments on Gov. Abbott
Rep. Randy Weber (R-Galveston) announced he has filed a censure resolution against Rep. Crockett (D-Dallas) for her comments on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott over the weekend. FOX 26's Greg Groogan spoke to Rep. Weber and a Rice University political science professor about the incident.
AUSTIN - Texas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett is facing potential censure by House colleagues for a controversial comment aimed at Governor Greg Abbott.
Rep. Crockett on Governor Abbott
The backstory:
Rep. Crockett spoke on the governor at the Human Rights Campaign Los Angeles dinner on Saturday.
"Y'all know we got Governor Hot Wheels down there. Come on now. And the only thing hot about him is he is a hot a-- mess," said Crockett, disparaging the wheelchair-bound Abbott.
Crockett later posted about the "Hot Wheels" comment on X, claiming "I was thinking about the planes, trains, and automobiles he used to transfer migrants into communities led by Black mayors."
Censure filed against Rep. Crockett
The other side:
Houston-area Congressman Randy Weber later announced on X that he has filed a measure to formally censure Crockett before the House membership.
"She should have never stooped that low. 'I'm going to disrespect him in that fashion, of making fun of what happened to him,'" he tells FOX 26 political reporter Greg Groogan. "There's absolutely no place for that and this is a method where we, as members of Congress, the House of Representatives can stand up and say that was wrong, that should never be done, never allowed. We don't want anything like that to ever happen again. And so, this is our way of saying we won't tolerate it."
‘Much of it is an act’
What they're saying:
Rice political analyst Mark Jones labeled Crockett's controversial comments and frequent use of profanity both "calculated" and "inauthentic."
"It was clearly an inappropriate statement and offensive at the same time, politicians make inappropriate statements all the time. I think clearly much of it is an act especially when she exaggerates mannerisms as well as her language. When we look at her back record, she went to the St. Louis equivalent of Kinkaid and St. John's. So, It's part of her political strategy. She's going to be iconoclastic, an agitator, a bomb thrower and that's going to get ratings. That's going to get her media coverage and it will bolster her credibility within the Democratic party's progressive wing," said Jones.
For his part, Abbott minimized Crockett's attack saying, "Democrats have nothing to sell but hate."
The Source: FOX 26's Greg Groogan spoke with Rep. Randy Weber (R-Galveston) and Mark Jones, a professor with Rice University's Department of Political Science.