Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) is under fire for mocking Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), the latest in a string of provocative statements that have boosted her profile over the past year. Since Crockett called the wheelchair-bound Abbott “Governor Hot Wheels,” Rep. Randy Weber (R-Texas) announce d plans to censure her, calling the remark “the latest in a series of inappropriate comments."  The remarks — which Crockett insists didn’t apply to Abbott’s condition — drew condemnation from prominent Texas and national Republicans, as well as some liberal accounts online. Trump called her a “lowlife;” Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) called the remarks “shameful”; his potential future challenger, state Attorney General Ken Paxton, went a step further and called Crockett herself “despicable.” And Abbott himself argued that Crockett’s remarks presaged future Democratic defeats.   “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,” Abbott said to Fox News' Sean Hannity.  Conservative commentators piled on as well, with the network’s Lisa Kennedy Montgomery referred to Crockett as an attention-seeker using an unprintable insult. Crockett doubled down despite the backlash, dismissing Republican criticism over the Abbott affair as performative outrage. She insisted that the remark referred to Abbott's habit of busing undocumented migrants to northern cities — particularly those with Black mayors.  But on Tuesday she also declared herself “appalled that the very people who unequivocally support Trump — a man known for racially insensitive nicknames and mocking those with disabilities — are now outraged.” In a post on X on Wednesday, she argued that Republicans had seized on her remarks to divert attention from ‘Signal-gate,’ a scandal in which Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth appeared to inadvertently text the details of a secret military operation to Jeffrey Goldberg, editor of the Atlantic. “The incompetence that many of us knew existed prior to the confirmation of these individuals is on full display for the WORLD,” Crockett wrote. “But you know, keep being distracted with the faux outrage from people who have never met an empathetic bone.”  “Oh, and the fact that there is an obsession over wanting me silenced tells me that I need to speak out more,” she added. Crockett’s office did not respond to a request for comment from The Hill. The incident came after Attorney General Pam Bondi called her out by name for statements saying Tesla CEO Elon Musk needed to be “taken down” and “knocked over the head.” Bondi — who misquoted Crockett’s remarks as “taken out” — demanded on Tuesday that Crockett apologize “immediately” to Tesla shareholders.  “Words have consequences,” Bondi told Hannity this week. Bondi appeared to be implying that Crockett had helped influence arson attacks on Tesla dealerships in Texas — something that Crockett denies, arguing that she was promoting boycotts, not violence.  Since being voted into the Texas House in 2021, Crockett, a civil rights lawyer, has built a reputation on scathing retorts, viral soundbites and triggering Republican outrage — a blend that has fueled her rise from a relatively unknown Dallas freshman to household name among progressive Democrats. Democratic leadership has yet to condemn Crockett. Instead, some Democrats say Crockett is fighting fire with fire. “I subscribe to the idea [that] when they go low, we go with the flow,” Democratic strategist Antjuan Seawright told The Hill, rephrasing Michelle Obama’s famous “when they go low we go high” dictum.  “Some of the activist community and others out there feel like Democrats don't fight enough, we don't play ball the same way and we behave by a set of rules that the other side does not,” he said. “So I think that we have to go with the flow — and we can't all of a sudden start to criticize and chastise each other for things that clearly the other side does not feel is a problem,” he added. That depends on the party’s goals, said Texas Republican strategist Brendan Steinhauser. Crockett’s comments, he said, would likely help her with her base — as might a similar strategy followed by other Democrats following Seawright’s advice. “But if you’re trying to win elections and appeal to the center and bring people back to their party you might have lost, it’s not the best strategy. So what’s your endgame here as a member of Congress? Governing majority or a single member building their national profile?” Steinhauser conceded that the American political scene offers plenty of counterexamples — starting with Trump himself. “A lot of people on the Republican side have doubled down on that kind of rhetoric.” But he said that Democrats faced risks in “going low” against a disabled governor that Republicans did not. “An attack on a protected class goes against your brand — you’re claiming to be for equality and tolerance, and if you do something like that, it shows you to be falling short of your own principles.” But there is only one “cardinal sin” for a Democrat in 2025 — being “boring and ineffectual,” as Cliff Walker, a partner at Austin-based progressive consulting group Seeker Strategies told The Hill. In an era of “rough and tumble” political discourse, he added, Crockett has put her finger on something crucial. “She recognizes that attention is the coin of the realm and has been one of the best in the country in getting people to think and act,” Walker said. Stoking interest by any means has long been part of Crockett’s strategy. She used profane language to refer to the bathroom where Trump allegedly kept classified documents; called the Republicans threatening to shut down the government “a bunch of a--holes” and called on Trump himself to “grow a spine and stop being Putin’s ho” after the president berated Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office. At least online, many progressive seem to agree. Despite universal Republican outrage and scattered criticism of Crockett from liberal accounts on social media over her Abbott comments, she was widely defended, with many social media users rushing to Crockett’s defense. Users posted clips of Trump mocking disabled people or referring to a long history of racist attacks on Crockett herself by right wing politicians or commentators.  “You would think Jasmine Crockett done slapped Greg Abbott out his wheelchair, called him a cripple and then proceeded to do the stanky leg!” one social media user posted. Many progressives have argued that the outrage was hypocritical: They pointed to GOP leaders like President Trump’s many examples of using racially charged language or mocking disabled people. Republicans, one user argued, condemned her remarks on Abbott, but “continue to openly call Rep. Jasmine Crockett “ghetto,” “hood rat,” “fake eyelashes” and the worse names they definitely call her behind closed doors. Others pointed to Abbott’s own history of controversial policies — including a veto to a bill that would provide mail-in ballot options for those with disabilities.  “Women and children have died because of Greg Abbott. Jasmine Crockett can say whatever she wants about that piece of s---,” one user wrote.  Since her time in the Texas House, Crockett’s political brand has long been built around getting the kind of attention rare for junior legislators. In her legislative session in the Texas House in 2021 — where she was the first black freshman — she filed more bills than any newcomer, though all failed in what her Republican colleagues would call “the most conservative legislative session in a generation.” She gave fiery speeches against Republican bills, such as ones creating restrictions on voting or threatening sanctions against cities like Dallas that reduced police budgets.  “Sadly enough, plenty of people haven’t been to South Dallas, where Black people are afraid most of the time because they don’t know if they’re going to get killed,” Crockett said in a speech on the police bill, per The Texas Tribune. “And instead of us doing something to protect people in this state, we decide to punish, punish people who are already suffering. That’s what’s wrong in this House.” This has often bled into frank self-promotion. That summer, she also joined about 50 Texas House Democrats as they fled to Dallas to block a Republican voting restriction bill. While senior members of the group fielded questions from reporters, Crockett stepped aside to film her own live TV interview with the Capitol dome looming behind. In Congress, Crockett declined to join fellow progressives in the small caucus known as “the Squad” — she calls herself a “pragmatic progressive” — and has frequently collaborated with Republicans on legislation. For example, she worked with Rep. Mark Alford (R-Mo.) last year on legislation that sought to increase food aid for low-income families to buy fruits and vegetables. But she has made her name in large part by hitting back at Republicans. As a freshman, she rose to national prominence after clashing with Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), who had told her in a hearing that “I think your fake eyelashes are messing up what you’re reading.” Crockett fired back by insulting Greene over her “bleach-blonde bad-built butch body.” Her campaign quickly moved to trademark the phrase. Earlier this year, she got under the skin of Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), who erupted at her during a hearing on LGBTQ rights. “She going to keep saying ‘trans, trans, trans,’ so that people will be afraid,” Crockett said. “Now, child, listen —” “I am not a child,” Mace shot back, a line she yelled repeatedly before asking Crockett if she wanted to “take it outside.” But Crockett has also credited Mace as an inspiration. The South Carolina legislator taught her that it was okay to swear on the floor to get attention, she told TheGrio. Mace kept using the word “s--- … and it wasn’t even effective.” “And I was like, ‘well, I can use this word effectively.’ Like, I know how to use my words,” the congresswoman said.  Crockett herself suggests the ire is part of the plan. “The fact that I live rent free… anywhere is truly a feat in Trump’s economy,” she wrote on X earlier in March.  “But MAGA world has multi-million dollar estates set up for me, in their minds.” ...read more read less