Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) shredded President Donald Trump on MS NOW Friday evening, in response to his racist social media post of a conspiracy theory video that depicted former President Barack Obama and his wife Michelle as monkeys while jungle music from "The Lion King" played in the background.
"We were talking a little bit earlier in the hour about how all of this happened six days into Black History Month and the complete lack, disregard for how this month resonates with Black and brown people in this country," said anchor Michael Steele, a former Republican National Committee chair. "What's your reaction to both what you heard from the president and from [Minority Leader Hakeem] Jeffries? Just because they both framed, I think, this moment very well, to be honest."
"Yeah," said Crockett, who is running in a hotly contested primary for the Senate race in Texas. "You know, it is so interesting because it's like we take one step forward, and then we take two steps back. And that's exactly what we've gotten out of this administration."
"And so for everyone that wanted to say that Black people were overreacting or that we were being dramatic, I want to be clear that it's not just his words, it's in his policy that he is slinging this type of hate," said Crockett. "Whether we're talking about ICE and how he deals with everyone, because it's not limited to immigrants, or whether we're talking about the rolling back of diversity, equity and inclusion."
"And I do want to be clear — you know, I don't give Donald Trump a lot of credit for much. But I will say this, he is the king of distractions and division," she continued. "And right now he has everyone talking about the fact that he posted something that was racist, which, frankly, if you've been paying attention, it was right on par. You're not surprised whatsoever, right? At the same time, this is the day after he said, stop talking about the Epstein files as more and more is coming out, as we're being told as lawmakers, that we're going to be given an opportunity to start to physically go and inspect the files he is trying to distract, and frankly, he is doing a good job of it."
"We know who he is," Crockett added. "We know who he was when he got elected the first time. We know who he was when he got elected this time. And so there's not really much to be surprised about when it comes to Donald Trump and not really having a level of respect specifically for people of color."