Over the weekend, the Human Rights Campaign held their annual LA dinner, which was well-attended by various LGBTQ celebrities. Texas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett attended the event and gave a 20-minute-long speech. Rep. Crockett has been getting a lot of heat in the past year or so, and she’s definitely on the political rise. She’s an attractive Black woman who represents a congressional district in the heart of Texas – she knows how to talk, she knows how to give a good TV interview, and she knows how to make news in congressional hearings (she originated “bleach-blonde bad built butch body” re: Marjorie Taylor Greene). Well, Rep. Crockett’s address at the HRC dinner is now getting a lot of attention. Here’s the full video of her remarks, but I’ve cued it to the 4:25-mark because that’s when she said the thing about the governor of Texas.

This is what’s making news this week: “I can tell you that Morgan has always been one of those people that will ask, ‘What is it that you need?’ You know, a lot of people see you out front, fighting, but nobody’s really asks you ‘what do you need to maintain that fight?’ So, thank you so much Morgan, because we in these hot-ass Texas streets, honey. Y’all know we got Governor Hot Wheels down there, come on! And the only thing hot about him is that he’s a hot-ass mess, honey!” The “Governor Hot Wheels” she’s referencing is Texas governor Greg Abbott, who has been in a wheelchair since 1984, when a tree fell on him.

I’ll be honest, I winced at the nickname, but before I looked into where Rep. Crockett said it, I honestly thought she said it in a congressional hearing. I was originally like “well, that’s inappropriate.” But finding out that she said it offhand in her speech at the HRC dinner lessens the pearl-clutching from my end. Also lessening the pearl-clutching from me: the fact that millions of Americans voted for the “grab ‘em by the p-ssy” adjudicated rapist and his merry band of “we get to say the r-word now” cult members. Also a factor: Greg Abbott is a f–king douchebag who has spent years actively harming Texas women, Texas children and Texas’s marginalized communities. F–k him. Rep. Crockett also posted a statement about the “controversy,” writing:

I wasn’t thinking about the governor’s condition—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.

Literally, the next line I said was that he was a “Hot A** Mess,” referencing his terrible policies. At no point did I mention or allude to his condition. So, I’m even more appalled that the very people who unequivocally support Trump—a man known for racially insensitive nicknames and mocking those with disabilities—are now outraged.

Keep that same energy for all people, not just your political adversaries.

Finally, this is yet another distraction. Instead of obsessing over and hanging on to my every word, maybe my political foes should focus on doing the work of the people who elected us to improve their lives.

[From Rep. Crockett’s Twitter]

An excellent statement. Now, do I believe that “Governor Hot Wheels” was genuinely a reference to busing/flying migrants into Black-led communities? Not really. But I also think there are much bigger fish to fry and the same people who are crying about “Governor Hot Wheels” are the same ones who are trying to distract from the grotesque national security catastrophe at the heart of the Trump administration.

Photos courtesy of Backgrid, Cover Images.