Much as I like Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett, she recently tried it when she sought to rationalize her referring to Texas Governor Greg Abbott as “Governor Hot Wheels” while speaking at a Human Rights Campaign banquet in Los Angeles.
For all the chuckles she got in the room and select corners of social media, she’s also been criticized in conservative media and mainstream programming like ABC’s The View.
Some disability groups have expressed “disappointment” in Crockett’s quip, too.
As for Abbott, who was sworn in as the governor of Texas in 2015, he didn’t directly address Crockett by name, opting instead to claim that Democrats collectively “have nothing to sell but hate” during an interview with Fox “News” host Sean Hannity.
“It’s another day and another disaster by the Democrats,” Abbott said when asked for his reaction to the Texas congresswoman’s comments.
“The reality is, they have no vision, no policy. They have nothing to sell but hate, and Americans are not buying it. It’s one reason why Texas is going to remain red and why Republicans are going to continue to win elections across the country,” he continued. “The bottom line is that Republican states like Texas are leading the way, and with comments like this by Democrats, we will just leave them in the dust in future elections.”
That, of course, makes no sense coming from Abbott, a liar and a terrible person.
Only a year ago did Abbott extend a rare state pardon to Daniel Perry, a racist convicted for the murder of Garrett Foster, a protester at a 2020 Black Lives Matter demonstration, which in doing so, offered a full-blown public embrace to white supremacist violence.
This year, he’s fighting DEI with all his might.
Personally, I will never forgive nor forget how, a couple of years ago, a winter storm caused the power grid for the state to fail, and while people like me were losing feeling in their toes as we shivered in the cold, Abbott was on Fox News making jokes about AOC and climate change.
I have called that man plenty of names myself, but time and place.
Jasmine Crockett Scorching governor Abbott.
“You know, we got Governor hot wheels down there. Come on now. And, and the only thing hot about him is that he is hot ass mess, honey.
I’m gonna move on. I’m gonna move on because I got other people to diss.”
🔥🔥🔥 pic.twitter.com/ccWKMR6tSL
— Winter🖤 (@GothicPolitics) March 25, 2025
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I would have assumed that with video of the incident going around, Crockett would’ve given a typical Democratic politician’s apology and promptly moved on.
Crockett instead took to X, formerly Twitter, and claimed that when she used “Governor Hot Wheels,” she was not referring to the wheelchair-bound governor, who was paralyzed in 1984 after a tree fell on him while he was running and severely damaged his spinal cord and his physical status.
“I wasn’t thinking about the governor’s condition — 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,” Crockett wrote in a post. “Literally, the next line I said was that he was a ‘hot ass Mess,’ referencing his terrible policies.”
Crockett also argued:
“Finally, this is yet another distraction. Instead of obsessing over and hanging on to my every word, maybe my political foes should focus on doing the work of the people who elected us to improve their lives.
“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.”
Y’all, I like her, too, but please.
I can’t stand Greg Abbott either. People like him are the reason why adages like “I wouldn’t piss on you if you were on fire” will live on so long as Black folks exist. He’s a bigoted troll who foolishly plays with people’s lives because he’s convinced himself that someday he can become president.
I love Texas despite the people who run it in Austin, not because of it – and that unfortunate circumstance is less attributable to conservative government policies and more to do with their decades-long plot to depress a multiethnic electorate by way of voter suppression laws. Not to mention a weak opposition party lacking national investment and support.
Texas Democrats should have more national representation, especially when they are under 45, so a naturally gifted politician like Jasmine Crockett should exist and be supported.
But y’all, she called that man “Governor Hot Wheels” at a fancy public event.
I don’t feel she deserves censure over this given all of the racist, sexist, and generally stupid things Republican congressional members say regularly, but her defense is nonsensical and she did this to herself.
Still, true as it is that Republicans have perfected vileness in the Trump era, there is a growing appetite for it from Democrats too.
The Dallas Observer’s editor-in-chief, Patrick Williams, took issue with Crockett’s use of “Governor Hot Wheels” and published an opinion piece with the headline “Memo to Rep. Jasmine Crockett: We Love You, But Please STFU.”
As the paper later noted, that piece was met with a wave of criticism from people across their social media platforms. They lit him and that op-ed on fire: some chided Williams for “policing a Black woman” while the rest virtually slapped him down and encouraged her to speak louder and more frequently.
I’m not surprised because when I first heard people using “Governor Hot Wheels” years ago, I said, “That ain’t right y’all.” I was quickly countered with “We don’t give a damn.” They didn’t care if they offended Greg Abbott because the way he treats people offends them.
I am not a fan of justifying our worst instincts because “they” do it too, but it is the climate we are in.
Jazmine is trying to have it both ways by pretending her recent public use of “Governor Hot Wheels” is different from others using it.
This is where we are, and while I’m not certain of how to navigate it, I do at least acknowledge it as real.
The Texas congresswoman should do the same.
Michael Arceneaux is a New York Times bestselling author whose most recent book, “I Finally Bought Some Jordans,” was published last March.
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