White House hits back at Jasmine Crockett after outspoken Dem suggests Trump supporters are mentally ill
In an interview with Katie Couric, the Texas representative singled out Donald Trump 's supporters as deeply sick.
'We've got a mental health crisis in this country because everyone, no matter how you affiliate yourself, should be against Trump, period. This is not partisan for me,' she said.
'It is really sick and anybody that supports it is also sick,' Crockett added.
Leavitt spoke during a White House press briefing Thursday and slammed her for painting a plurality of American voters that way.
'It's incredibly derogatory to accuse nearly 80 million Americans of mental illness,' Leavitt said.
'The last time I checked, Jasmine Crockett couldn't dream of winning such a majority of the public as President Trump did,' she added.
'The America first movement, which President Trump has built, is filled with hardworking patriots. The forgotten men and women, business owners, law enforcement officers, nurses and teachers and Middle America, as we all know from where you all grew up outside of this Beltway. That's who makes up this president's movement.'
She then dared Crockett to attend a rally for the president so that she could 'see for herself.'
Leavitt also joked that Crockett was considered a 'rising star' for the Democrats, 'for the Republican Party, at least.'
Crockett has indeed gotten some of the most media attention among the left since Trump's second term for her antagonism of both the president and Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott.
Earlier this month, Crockett left a reporter in complete disbelief after saying Republicans privately expressed admiration for her.
The firebrand progressive made the stunning claim during an interview Sunday with WFAA political reporter Jason Whitely, as the 44-year-old looks fill her party's top job on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
'It's become clear, as I have been out in various cities throughout this country, where I've had Republicans walk up to me and tell me how much they like me,' Crockett said, after being asked about recent polling that suggests she could run for higher office in 2028.
'No, you haven't! Are you serious?' a flabbergasted Whitely interjected.
'You'd be surprised. Oh yeah,' the former public defender replied, the same day CNN 's Scott Jennings called her one of the 'true leaders' of the Democratic Party.
'Come on,' Whitely shot back incredulously.
The reporter then pressed Crockett over any plans to potentially run for president in 2028.
'Yeah, no, I want to do what I can to hopefully make sure that we win, so I'm a team player,' she demurred.
'I want to win the majority back in Congress, but also win the presidency going into 2028,' she continued.
Trump has called Crockett 'a very low-IQ person' and a 'lowlife.'
He did so at the National Republican Congressional Committee's President's Dinner while mocking the chances of Crockett becoming her party's future leader - a take that pundits like Jennings have disagreed with.
'Crockett, AOC - I mean, those are the true leaders of your party right now,' he told his fellow panelists Sunday during an appearance on CNN's State of the Union.
The interview aired just weeks before a June 24 caucus election to fill the committee position left vacant by late Rep. Gerry Connolly, who notably beat out Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez for the spot last year.
Crockett, seen as a rising star in the caucus and a talented communicator, will face off against Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts, Kweisi Mfume of Maryland and Robert Garcia of California.
Most see the race as wide open, after Ocasio-Cortez, 35, opted to not run this time around to keep her seat on the Energy and Commerce Committee.
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