Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett criticized for mocking Gov. Greg Abbott as "Gov. Hot Wheels"
Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett is facing criticism for referring to Gov. Greg Abbott, who uses a wheelchair, as "Gov. Hot Wheels" while speaking at a banquet in Los Angeles over the weekend.
"You all know we got Gov. Hot Wheels down there. Come on, now," Crockett, a Dallas Democrat, said about Abbott, a Republican, while addressing the Human Rights Campaign event. "And the only thing hot about him is that he is a hot-ass mess, honey."
Abbott, who was elected in 2014, was paralyzed in 1984 after a tree fell on him while he was running. The accident severely damaged Abbott's spinal cord, confining him, now 67, to a wheelchair for more than 40 years.
Crockett, elected to the House in 2022, was roundly criticized by Republicans for the comments, an aside she made during her speech to the civil rights group event after she thanked Morgan Cox, a group board member and fellow Dallas resident, according to video of the event posted to Human Rights Campaign's YouTube channel.
"Crockett's comments are disgraceful," Texas Sen. John Cornyn posted on the social media platform X. "Shameful."
"I wasn't thinking about the governor's condition," Crockett said in a post on X. "I was thinking 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. Literally, the next line I said was that he was a 'Hot A** Mess,' referencing his terrible policies. At no point did I mention or allude to his condition. 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."
According to his X page, Texas Rep. Randy Weber has introduced a censure resolution for Crockett.
Neither Abbott's nor Crockett's office immediately replied to requests for comment.
Crockett has faced criticism from Republicans for suggesting last week that tech billionaire Elon Musk, heading the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency, "be taken down."
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Beaumont reported from Des Moines, Iowa.
