U.S. Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett made Donald Trump a major feature of her newly launched U.S. Senate campaign, telling the president, “I’m coming for you.”
Crockett held a campaign rally at the Frederick Douglass Human Services and Justice Center in Dallas, where a throng of supporters cheered her on, holding up signs that read, “This is our time.”
The 44-year-old former attorney and Texas state legislator said she entered the race, filing just hours before the state’s deadline, because she believes polling data and her experience demonstrate that she is the best candidate to take on Trump and Republicans amid an affordability crisis for millions of Americans.
“I’m done with politics as usual. I’m done with going along to get along, and it gets us nowhere,” Crockett said during a 40-minute campaign speech.
“I’m done watching rural hospitals and public schools close their doors. I’m done watching parents be afraid to send their kids to school or the mall or the movies because Republicans have flooded our streets with guns. I’m done with the senators sitting around doing nothing while Trump takes your hard-earned money, skims your Social Security, slashes Medicare, and gives tax breaks to billionaires!”
President Trump has evoked the name of Jasmine Crockett repeatedly since returning to office, often calling the law graduate “low IQ.”
Crockett played into the 47th president of the United States’ disparaging comments about her, using them as the soundtrack to her first campaign video.
In a black-and-white video, the Dallas, Texas native stares down the camera as Trump says, “How about this new one? They have their new star, Crockett. How about her? She’s the new star of the Democrat Party, Jasmine Crockett, they’re in big trouble.”
He continues, “I watched her speak the other day, and she’s definitely a low-IQ person, Crockett, oh, man, oh man…Crockett is going to bring them back.”
Crockett said of Trump at the Monday night rally, “I’m the only one who has gone toe to toe with Donald Trump, and there’s a reason he’s always got my name in his mouth.”
She also called out Trump’s involvement in Texas Republicans’ redrawing of their congressional map, which is designed to give them an advantage in picking up five additional seats in the U.S. House of Representatives in next year’s midterm elections. The districts targeted are all represented by Black and Latino members of Congress. While the map is being challenged in court as a racial gerrymander in violation of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the U.S. Supreme Court recently allowed it to stay in place as the case proceeds.
“He knows that’s why he called Greg Abbott and said, ‘I need five seats from Texas, I’m entitled to them.’ And Abbott got right to it. Well, Trump, I know you’re watching, so let me tell you directly, you’re not entitled to a damn thing in Texas. You’d better get to work, because I’m coming for you,” said Crockett.
The congresswoman addressed the “elephant in the room” that people think she can’t win in a “red” state like Texas, pointing out that other Democrats have managed to secure major victories in the South.
“If Mississippi can flip seats, then why can’t Texas? If Georgia can elect two Democrats to the United States Senate, then Texas can too,” she said.
Crockett continued, “I’m asking you to tune out those intrusive voices that say she can’t win because she’s Black; that because she’s a woman, or because she’s a Democrat. If you believe women should be in all spaces, then I ask you to stand with me. If you believe we should be judged by the content of our character, then I’m asking for your support.”
As the costs of housing, health care, and groceries continue to be too high for most working Americans, Crockett said, “I’m done watching the American dream on life support while Trump tries to pull the plug. The gloves have been off, and now I’m jumping into the ring.”
A Democrat has not been elected to the U.S. Senate from Texas since 1988, when Crockett was 7 years old. Crockett believes she can mobilize the necessary “multi-racial, multi-generational coalition,” namely Black and Latino voters, to make history as the first Black woman from Texas elected to the U.S. Senate. She noted that the Lone Star State is 61% people of color.
“I’m a threat to the system that’s been holding us back from our full potential. I’m a threat to a system that works to protect politics as usual, that seeks to maintain the despair and unfairness in our state,” said Crockett.
She continued, “I’m a threat to those that have lost their moral compass, abandoned their purpose, and want to be kings instead of public servants.”
