Jasmine Crockett Struggles After Being Cornered Over Reparations

Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas offered a lengthy, meandering response about her position on reparations during a Thursday appearance on REVOLT News’ “The People’s Brief.” Crockett, who is running for the U.S. Senate, previously said on “The Black Lawyers Podcast” in April 2024 that she was open to exempting Black Americans from paying taxes as a form of reparations.

During the REVOLT News interview, host Lynae Vanee said there was “some misinformation” about Crockett’s stance, but Crockett did not clearly restate or clarify her position.

“I think that anybody that knows me knows that I’m a fan of, you know, making sure that people understand our contributions as well as acknowledging the harm that has happened as it relates to our people,” Crockett said. “And so for me, it’s always been about what is it that we can actually get passed?”

“Because I feel like what we do is we constantly have the conversation and we’re like ‘Reparations, reparations.’ But it’s like, all right, so if we were to move forward in any way, what does that look like?” she continued. “And so, you know, I look at it like I think it takes kind of some bold, unapologetic people to move the needle.”

No American alive today was ever a slave or born into slavery in the U.S.

Crockett then shifted her focus to criticizing President Donald Trump for suggesting that those prosecuted for their involvement in the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot should be compensated, as well as for his proposal to make the tax cuts from 2017 permanent.

“We know that Donald Trump advocated for reparations for January 6ers, right?” she said, as though compensation for wrongful prosecution and payments to former slaves is the same thing. “And so it’s like, why is that not a big controversy, right? Like, I mean, that’s a bit more controversial in my mind, right?”

“So why is it that we can sit here and be okay with the fact that billionaires are going to get historic tax cuts that are permanent and we’re not talking about like really evaluating what could move the needle as it relates to how far behind we got because of our contributions basically just from slave labor and yeah,” she added.

Crockett also said she was working on “truth and reconciliation” in the House. She introduced the “United States Commission on Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation Concurrent Resolution” in June to create a congressional commission examining the effects of alleged “systemic racism” against black Americans, along with continuing “racial inequities” that she never named.

Per the Daily Caller, just over one-third of Americans even support paying reparations to descendants of slaves. It’s not clear if there is any similar data showing support for or against paying white immigrants to the U.S. ‘reparations’ for being discriminated against when they arrived from Europe.

Crockett’s decision to launch a campaign for the U.S. Senate in Texas has sparked frustration among some House Democrats, who worry her bid could complicate the party’s efforts in the state.

Crockett, known for her outrageous remarks about Trump, is viewed by some Democratsas a polarizing figure who could make it harder to appeal to swing voters in a statewide race.

Several party strategists also fear that if she becomes the nominee, her presence at the top of the ticket could affect competitive House races that may determine control of the chamber next year.

“She might win a primary, but she ain’t winning a general in Texas,” a senior House Democrat who, like others quoted by Axios, spoke on the condition of anonymity to offer straightforward thoughts about a colleague.

“It’s concerning for [swing] districts … I think it’s a bad decision,” a second Democrat told the outlet.