Sep 14, 2025 minute read

Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) argued Friday that political insults do not equate to encouraging physical violence, drawing a distinction between harsh rhetoric and direct calls for harm.

Speaking on The Breakfast Club with host Charlamagne Tha God, Crockett discussed political discourse and rising concerns about violence in the wake of the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. “Me disagreeing with you, me calling you, you know, wannabe Hitler, all of those things are not necessarily saying, ‘Go out and hurt somebody,’” Crockett said, according to The Wrap.

She contrasted that with President Donald Trump’s past remarks, pointing to his infamous 2016 comment in Sioux Center, Iowa: “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn’t lose any voters.”

Crockett said Trump’s style of campaigning crossed a line. “When you’re literally telling people at rallies, yeah, beat him up and that kind of stuff, you are promoting a culture of violence,” she said. “So we need to talk about what it looks like when you don’t promote a culture of violence.”

Proclaiming that people are Nazis and Hitler, however, does hold real-world consequences, as can be seen with trends that encourage people to “punch a Nazi.”

Charlamagne pressed her on whether inflammatory rhetoric is present on both sides of the political spectrum. Crockett said that while Democrats are often labeled “socialists” or other pejoratives, such language does not create “an environment of violence” in the same way as urging physical confrontations at political events.

She said that recent immigration enforcement actions also contribute to tensions, citing images of Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers “dragging people and kicking them and taking them down to the ground and busting windows out.” Crockett said those scenes represent “a new level” of government force against communities.