Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) mocked Texas Gov. Greg Abbott for his wheelchair in remarks that circulated online Tuesday, drawing sharp condemnation from Republicans.
“Y'all know we got Governor Hot Wheels down there. Come on now,” Crockett said at a Human Rights Campaign dinner in Los Angeles Saturday. “And the only thing hot about him is that he is a hot ass mess, honey."
Abbott was paralyzed after a tree fell on him while out running over 40 years ago.
The Texas Republican is a key ally for President Donald Trump and has long clashed with Democrats over gun control, immigration and voting rights, among other issues.
Reached in the halls of the Capitol, Crockett told POLITICO her statement "speaks for itself."
But in a post on X several hours later, Crockett said she wasn't thinking about the governor's condition, but "about the planes, trains, and automobiles he used to transfer migrants into communities led by Black mayors, deliberately stoking tension and fear among the most vulnerable."
"At no point did I mention or allude to his condition," Crockett wrote. "So, I’m even more appalled that the very people who unequivocally support Trump — a man known for racially insensitive nicknames and mocking those with disabilities — are now outraged."
Crockett has emerged as a vocal member of Congress as the fractured Democratic Party looks for a response to the new Trump administration and has embraced using some profanity in her attacks.
Conservatives were quick to pile on Crockett’s comments Tuesday, with some urging House Speaker Mike Johnson for her censure.
“Recent polling shows Crazy Crockett as one of the leaders of the Democrat Party. This is who they are,” the National Republican Congressional Committee, the House GOP’s campaign arm, wrote on X.
Nicholas Wu contributed to this report.
