political writer
U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett is urging Democrats to be more ferocious in their fight to resist President Donald Trump’s policies.
“You’ve just got to be honest and you’ve got to be blunt,” Crockett said during a recording for Sunday’s edition of Lone Star Politics, a show produced by KXAS (NBC 5) and The Dallas Morning News. “The old way of doing politics has always been to find the perfect way to say it, and to make sure that you say it diplomatically. The reality is that we’re dealing with an administration that is lawless and disrespectful.”
Crockett, a Dallas Democrat, said it was a mistake to be “nice, friendly and kind” or “looking for a sense of normalcy, when we literally are living in a time that is anything but normal.”
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“We’ve got to get comfortable with letting our hair down a little bit,” Crockett said.
Crockett’s remarks reflect the growing debate in the Democratic Party on how to best counter Trump and rebound from the 2024 political season that featured Republicans winning control of the White House and both branches of Congress.
Democrats, who polls show are unpopular with most Americans, are grappling with not only Trump, but how to better craft a message and agenda that will lead to winning elections.
Crockett, known for her biting criticism and viral feuds with Republicans, contends that Americans want fighters, not status quo politicians. Since she took office in 2023, Crockett has had viral clashes with Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, Nancy Mace of South Carolina and Elon Musk, who is heading the Department of Government Efficiency.
“We have to be comfortable with being rightfully outraged in this moment, and I think that there are so many that are not OK with being rightfully outraged, because we are the representatives, and so we are supposed to carry ourselves in a different way,” Crockett said. “I won’t necessarily disagree with that, but what I will say is that it is hard for people to believe you, if they feel like you can’t feel them. And I think that what they get from me is that they always feel like, Oh, ‘she understands and she feels our pain.’”
Crockett added: “It’s just a matter of leaning into your authenticity and not trying to be who people imagine you to be, but being who you honestly are.”
Republicans are not fans of Crockett and say her approach isn’t going to improve Democrats’ political standing.
“It’s easy for her to take that approach because she’s in what’s described as a safe district,” said Texas Republican Party Chairman Abraham George. “Democrats need to learn real lessons for the past election. “They should not pick fights just because it’s President Trump. There are probably people – even in her district – that say ‘we like the drama Jasmine brings, but we don’t like her policies.’”
Friction inside the Democratic Party intensified last week when Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and eight other Democratic senators voted with Republicans on a six-month spending bill that narrowly averted a government shutdown and gave Trump a victory. Sen. Angus King, an independent from Maine who caucuses with Democrats, also voted to advance the bill.
Progressives, including Crockett, urged Senate Democrats to push for a 30-day extension and oppose the spending bill. A 30-day extension, Crockett said, would have kept funding levels in place and protected veterans and other Americans in need from “draconian cuts.” House Democrats also would have preferred Schumer block the spending bill than vote in favor of it.
Schumer framed the debate in the context of a government shutdown, saying it would have allowed the Musk-led DOGE to “shift into overdrive.”
Crockett sits on a subcommittee with jurisdiction over DOGE.
“Chuck is on his cleanup tour right now,” Crockett said, adding that Schumer is “not being completely honest” when telling Americans the only two options were to allow a government shutdown or vote for the six-month spending bill. “It wasn’t a matter of these are the only two options.”
Crockett didn’t give an opinion on whether Schumer should remain the Democrats’ Senate leader.
“That’s a fight for the Senate Democrats to have, because I don’t get a vote,” she said.
During the segment, Crockett also discussed ways for Democrats to win back working Americans.
“We need to show that we have always been the party that will fight for what’s right for all people,” Crockett said.
“Working class people may have went to the wrong side, the dark side,” she added. “These were people that were completely unaware of the policies that we have been fighting for, because Democrats love to keep our heads down and just do the work.”
Lone Star Politics airs Sunday at 8:30 A.M. on NBC 5.
The Howard University graduate and Chicago native has covered four presidential campaigns and written extensively about local, state and national politics. Before The News, he was a reporter at The Kansas City Star and The Chicago Defender. You can catch Gromer every Sunday at 8:30 a.m. on NBC 5's Lone Star Politics.
