2024-08-20 12:20:02
Sign up for The Brief, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.
CHICAGO — U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Dallas, blasted former President Donald Trump as a “career criminal” while speaking at the Democratic National Convention on Monday, contrasting his record with Vice President Kamala Harris’ career as a prosecutor and former California attorney general.
“One candidate worked at McDonald’s, while she was in college at an HBCU. The other was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, and helped his daddy in the family business: Housing discrimination,” Crockett said to boisterous laughter. “She became a career prosecutor, while he became a career criminal, with 34 felonies, two impeachments, and one porn star to prove it.”
“Kamala Harris has a résumé. Donald Trump has a rap sheet,” Crockett said. “She presides over the Senate, while he keeps national secrets next to his thinking chair — y’all know what I said the other time — in Mar-A-Lago.”
Crockett was the first Texan in Congress to speak on the DNC main stage. Her presence on the convention program punctuated her exceptional political rise. She is a freshman member of the U.S. House, running for Congress after serving only one term in the Texas House. She has broken out as a viral messenger on Democratic priorities, often clashing with Republicans in public committee hearings.
Crockett’s acumen as a party messenger showed early signs as a state representative, when she was an architect of a 2021 state House Democratic quorum break to stall the passage of Republican-led voting legislation. Before elected office, Crockett was a public defense attorney practicing civil rights law.
She alluded to her past as a public defender, saying Harris was “the kind of prosecutor we longed for.” She brought up Harris’ mandate for police officers to wear body cameras and efforts to reduce criminal recidivism.
Crockett also opened up about Harris caring for her when she was early in her time in Congress. She said Harris consoled her during their first meeting at the Vice President’s residence shortly after Crockett was elected to Congress.
“When I first got to Congress, I wasn’t sure I made the right decision,” Crockett said. “That chaos caucus couldn’t elect a speaker and the Oversight Committee was unhinged.”
“She saw right through me. She saw the distress. I immediately began crying,” Crockett continued, holding back tears. “And the most powerful woman in the world wiped my tears and listened. She then said, among other things, ‘You are exactly where God wants you.’ ”
Crockett went on: “The next month, I went viral for the first of many times to come.”
Crockett made a quiet allusion to one of her most famous viral moments where she pushed back at U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Georgia, for mocking her appearance during a committee hearing. During that meeting, Crockett indirectly said Greene had a “bleach blonde, bad built, butch body.”
“The question before us is, will a vindictive, vile villain violate voters’ vision for a better American or not?” Crockett said, giving a knowing smile as the crowd burst into laughter. “I hear alliteration is back in style.”
Other Texans who were on the agenda Monday included Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and Democratic abortion rights activist Amanda Zurawski. The first Texan to take the main stage of the national convention was country singer Mickey Guyton, a native of Arlington, who performed “All American.”
Hidalgo, who leads the most populous county in the state, praised Harris for visiting Texas the same week she launched her campaign to distribute FEMA aid in the wake of Hurricane Beryl. Hidalgo also praised Harris for the Biden administration’s work on climate policy, which sent “at least a billion dollars to help us with” protecting “our communities from extreme weather.”
“We deserve leaders who acknowledge the threats, heck, the existence of climate change,” Hidalgo said. “We deserve tough leaders who have our backs. We deserve compassionate leaders ready to help. That’s Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.”
Zurawski sued Texas over its restrictive abortion laws after doctors refused to end her compromised pregnancy, jeopardizing her life. The Texas Supreme Court ruled against her, galvanizing her to advocate abortion access. She has been a surrogate for the Biden and Harris campaign, traveling with the campaign around the country.
She appeared on the stage with her husband Josh on Monday night.
“Every time I share our story, my heart breaks,” Amanda Zurawski said. “For the baby girl we wanted desperately. For the doctors and nurses who couldn’t help me deliver her safely. For Josh, who feared he would lose me, too. But I was lucky. I lived.”
Zurawski pointed out that more than a third of American women of reproductive age live under an abortion ban.
“We need to vote as if lives depend on it,” she continued. “Because they do.”
The Texans shared the convention stage with some of the biggest names in the Democratic Party. President Joe Biden, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, and U.S. Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jim Clyburn were all on the Monday evening program.
Clinton, who was the 2016 Democratic nominee for president, cast Harris as continuing the effort she led as the first woman nominated by a major American party.
“Together, we’ve put a lot of cracks in the highest, hardest glass ceiling,” Clinton said, alluding to her concession speech in 2016. “On the other side of that glass ceiling is Kamala Harris raising her hand and taking the oath of office as our 47th president of the United States.”
Harris also made a brief, surprise appearance on stage to thunderous applause and Beyoncé’s “Freedom,” which has been an anthem of her campaign. Harris thanked Biden for passing the torch to the next generation by stepping off the ticket.
“Joe, thank you for your historic leadership, for your lifetime of service to our nation and for all you will continue to do,” Harris said. “We are forever grateful to you.”
The full program is now LIVE for the 2024 Texas Tribune Festival, happening Sept. 5–7 in downtown Austin. Explore the program featuring more than 100 unforgettable conversations on topics covering education, the economy, Texas and national politics, criminal justice, the border, the 2024 elections and so much more. See the full program.
