Dallas Democratic Congressman Jasmine Crockett touched some nerves recently when she referred to Texas Governor Greg Abbott as “Governor Hot Wheels.”
Abbott, of course, is wheelchair-bound. And while it’s a commonly used nickname for the Republican governor, such a statement is seen as being insensitive to all handicapped people.
But in this current political environment, personal insults — even the ones of an insensitive nature — seem to be completely inbounds. Who can forget President Donald Trump using a gesture to mock a handicapped reporter?
But in the case of Crockett, we now have calls for her to be censured for her comment. Houston Congressman Al Green was censured last month after he spoke out loudly during Trump’s State of the Union Address. Remember that some Republicans were similarly disruptive during former Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama’s State of the Union Addresses and suffered no consequences.
So we ask, is there a double standard for Black political figures and their Republican counterparts? There certainly seems to be, especially after Crockett attempted to explain that her “Hot Wheels” reference was to the trains, planes and automobiles Abbott has used to ship illegal immigrants out of Texas.
In our latest episode of the Defender Roundtable, Urban Conservatives of America Communications Director Alexandria Butler and UCA Founder Jonathan McCullough join the panel to discuss this perceived double standard and much more. The conversation is lively, spirited and important.
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