Texas Representative Jasmine Crockett jokingly refers to Governor Greg Abbott, who uses a wheelchair, as ‘Gov. Hot Wheels’

LOS ANGELES, California — During a recent event in Los Angeles, Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett made a controversial comment about her state’s governor, Greg Abbott, who uses a wheelchair. She referred to Abbott as “Gov. Hot Wheels,” drawing attention to his disability.

“You all know we got Gov. Hot Wheels down there. Come on, now,” Crockett, a Dallas Democrat, remarked about Abbott, a Republican, while speaking at the Human Rights Campaign event. She went on to say, “And the only thing hot about him is that he is a hot-ass mess, honey.”

In 1984, Abbott suffered a life-changing accident where a tree fell on him while he was out running, leaving him paralyzed. This incident caused severe damage to his spinal cord. Despite the challenges he faced, Abbott, now 67 years old, went on to be elected as governor of Texas in 2014.

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.”

Crockett suggested Tuesday that she was not referring to Abbott’s condition. Instead, she posted on X that she was referring to Abbott’s policy of sending thousands of immigrants who were in Texas illegally to cities where local policy limits cooperation with federal immigration authorities, such as New York and Philadelphia.

“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,” the post stated.

Abbott’s office did not 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.”