U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, disparagingly called Gov. Greg Abbott “Hot Wheels” to mock his use of a wheelchair Saturday, prompting fierce backlash from Republicans.<br /><br />“Jasmine Crockett is despicable,” Attorney General Ken Paxton said on social media.<br /><br />“Shameful,” U.S. Sen. John Cornyn posted.<br /><br />"Jasmine Crockett is the perfect spokesperson for today’s Democrats — out of touch and completely unhinged,” said Mike Marinella, a spokesperson for the National Republican Congressional Committee. “When you’ve got no message and no agenda, all that’s left is hate."Crockett made the remark during a dinner in Los Angeles hosted by the Human Rights Campaign, a pro-LGBTQ rights organization. Addressing the crowd, she quipped: “Y’all know we got Gov. Hot Wheels down there. Come on now. And the only thing hot about him is that he is a hot ass mess, honey.”<br /><br />Abbott has used a wheelchair for over 40 years. He was struck by a falling tree in 1984 while jogging, crushing multiple vertebrae. He was 26 at the time.<br /><br />Crockett is not the first to land in hot water after mocking Abbott’s disability. Then-Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt apologized in 2019 after she said Abbott “hates trees because one fell on him.” Eckhardt is now a state senator. Two staffers of Empower Texans, a right-wing advocacy group, drew condemnation from their fellow Texas Republicans in 2020 after audio surfaced of them cursing out the governor and deriding his disability.
