Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, has commented on the reactions to the killing of Charlie Kirk, criticizing her white colleagues for voting to honor Kirk despite his racist rhetoric. She has spoken out against honoring the “harmful” rhetoric of Kirk, even as Crockett continues to be targeted with racism.
Crockett calls out white Democrats for honoring Kirk despite ‘harmful’ racial rhetoric
Appearing on CNN with host Dana Bash, Crockett was asked about her decision alongside 57 other Democratic members of the House of Representatives to vote against a resolution honoring Charlie Kirk. Crockett said, “One of the things I do want to point out that’s not been laid out that honestly hurts my heart is when I saw the ‘no’ votes, there were only two Caucasians.” The Democrats who opposed the resolution honoring the “life and legacy” of Kirk included Crockett and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez but only two white representatives: Seth Moulton of Massachusetts and Mike Quigley of Illinois. “The rhetoric that Charlie Kirk continuously put out there was rhetoric that specifically targeted people of color,” Crockett said. “It’s unfortunate that even our colleagues could not see how harmful his rhetoric was, specifically to us.” Crockett compared honoring Kirk to supporting Confederate monuments. “Just like we wanted to make sure those Confederate relics were taken down — the idea of a new age relic being propped up was something I could not subscribe to.”
History of racist comments by Kirk
Kirk, who was shot and killed earlier in September while making a public appearance at a university in Utah, was one of the most prominent conservative voices in the United States. He often made racially charged comments. He blamed affirmative action and DEI programs for causing him to question the qualifications of Black people. “If I see a Black pilot, I’m going to be like, boy, I hope he’s qualified,” Kirk said at one point; on another occasion, he remarked, “If I’m dealing with somebody in customer service who’s a moronic Black woman, I wonder is she there because of her excellence, or is she there because of affirmative action?” As Crockett pointed out on CNN, Kirk recently criticized her as a “circus act” and said she was part of “the great replacement of white people,” a popular right-wing conspiracy theory about immigrants and other minorities.
Right-wing outrage targets Democrats, critics of Kirk
Since Kirk’s killing, conservatives have rallied around his memory while also using his death to attack Democrats and anyone critical of Kirk or his allies. Washington Post columnist Karen Attiah was recently fired by the paper after criticizing Kirk for challenging the credentials of Black women such as Michelle Obama and Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson. ABC late-show host Jimmy Kimmel was suspended by Disney for several days after criticizing the MAGA movement’s reaction to Kirk’s killing. Now, Crockett appears to be receiving political and racist backlash over her views about Kirk and his legacy. Laura Loomer, the far-right figure who has seemingly influenced various Trump administration decisions despite her controversial views, responded to Crockett’s comments with racist insults posted on X.
This is not the first time that Crockett has been targeted with right-wing vitriol for her statements and stances. For now, she remains one of the most prominent voices in the Democratic Party and has called out her fellow members of Congress for not standing up to the type of racist rhetoric that Crockett herself continues to face.
