Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) says she understands why people feel like the Democratic party only comes knocking when it needs something.
The legislator from the Lone Star state was frank while talking about the fallout from the 2024 election during Tuesday’s episode of the “Outlaws” podcast with TS Madison, a production of iHeartMedia’s Outspoken Podcast Network.
While she said President Donald Trump misled about lots of his far-right policy plans, one thing he did campaign on was his “crazy ideas” about the tariffs now wreaking havoc on the American economy.
Crockett was baffled by the fact people heard him promise to put sweeping import taxes in place and still voted for him, only to respond by tanking his approval ratings after his trade policies started jacking up prices.
Frustrated that Democrats weren’t able to communicate how the cost of tariffs would get passed on to American consumers, she said, “A lot of this stuff he lied through his teeth, but he at least told you about the tariffs, and y’all wouldn’t take two minutes to try and understand what we were trying to tell you.”
But the congresswoman fully admitted that her party hadn’t done enough to inspire confidence in voters while also telling Madison how she thinks Democrats can turn things around.
Jemal Countess via Getty Images
“One of the things that I’m trying to get through to so many on my side is about how we communicate,” she said. “Because I feel like we are not trusted messengers. And for whatever reason, they trusted the biggest known con man ever.
“They trust him, so it didn’t matter what he said because they believed in his heart, regardless of his policies, regardless of his words, they believed in his heart.”
Crockett said the mistrust was especially deep in the Black community, where many believe Democrats have taken them for granted.
“The Black community has gotten so tired of every time it’s election time, that’s when we show up to all the churches. That’s when we want to come to the barbershop. That’s when we want to have a conversation instead of continuously engaging in communication and letting people know, ‘This is what I’m doing for you, and this is why what he’s done is going to mess you up.’”
Savagely comparing her party’s behavior to a badly behaved fling, she said, “It has to be a continuous relationship,” but right now “it’s kind of like that dude that wants to come around every once in a while, and he wants to call you at midnight.”
“We haven’t talked in months,” Crockett quipped. “Do not be blowing me up now at midnight.”
Listen to Crockett’s full conversation with TS Madison on “Outlaws.”