3 days ago
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Rep. Jasmine Crockett is refusing to apologize for calling wheelchair-bound Texas Governor Greg Abbott ‘Hot Wheels’ despite immense backlash and threats of congressional censure.
The progressive Texas Democrat released a statement following the uproar Tuesday, stating she “wasn’t thinking about the governor’s condition” and insisted it was not a jibe about Abbott being differently abled.
“At no point did I mention or allude to his condition,” she said.
She argued her comments were a reference to the “planes, trains, and automobiles he used to transfer migrants” in blue states.
Not the fact that Abbott, 67, uses a wheelchair.
The long-term governor was paralyzed in 1984 after a tree fell and collapsed on top of him while he was out running. The accident severely damaged his spinal cord.
Crockett made the remark while speaking at a Human Rights Campaign banquet in Los Angeles at the weekend.
While taking the stand, she said: “We in these hot a** Texas streets, honey.
“Y’all know we got Governor Hot Wheels down there. Come on now! And the only thing hot about him is that he is a hot a** mess, honey!” the lawmaker added.
Crockett addressed the double standards of being called out over the barb in her X statement, claiming that she was “even more appalled” that Trump supporters who are content with his “racially insensitive nicknames.”
However, her failure to formally acknowledge the faux pas and issue a formal apology has been met with mixed reactions.
X user Tristan Thomas wrote: “If Elon doesn't have to apologize for a "mistaken" Nazi Salute, you don't have to apologize for anything ever.”
While another scorned Crockett, writing: “This shouldn’t turn into a game of ‘well, Trump did something awful, so now I gets a free pass’. Bad behavior doesn’t cancel out other bad behavior. Wrong is wrong, no matter who does it. Stop defending bad behavior and apologize for your actions.”
Last week, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene called Crockett out by accusing her of orchestrating “political violence and terrorism” and made her concerns known to Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel.
“A Member of Congress is organizing political violence and terrorism,” the controversial Georgia congresswoman wrote on X Thursday in response to a live stream titled TeslaTakedown, which discussed peaceful protests against Musk.
Attorney General Pam Bondi reacted by calling on Crockett to apologize for her comments against Musk, insisting they be “taken down,” claiming the comments are driving violence and “insurrection.”
The Independent contacted Abbott for comment.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
