CNN anchor Jake Tapper reportedly confronted Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas on Tuesday over controversial comments she made comparing Latino Trump voters to slaves with a “slave mentality.” The remarks, published in a December 2024 Vanity Fair profile, resurfaced just as Crockett launched her U.S. Senate campaign—creating a political storm she is now struggling to contain.
According to the Vanity Fair piece, Crockett suggested that Latinos who support President Donald Trump must “hate themselves,” arguing that Trump’s tough immigration policies should make him unacceptable to Hispanic voters. “It almost reminds me of what people would talk about when they would talk about kind of like slave mentality,” she said at the time. “It’s almost like a slave mentality that they have.”
Tapper read the quote back to Crockett during his show, noting that at the very moment she made those comments, around one million Latino voters in Texas were casting ballots for Trump—a historic high for a Republican presidential nominee. Trump went on to win an estimated 46% to 48% of the Latino vote nationwide in 2024, including the Latino male vote by a decisive 54% to 44%, according to NBC News exit polling.
Pressed directly, Tapper asked: “Do they all have slave mentality?”
Crockett denied that she had called all Latino Trump voters slaves or self-hating. “No, and that’s not what that said at all, to be clear. It did not say that every Latino has that type of mentality,” she insisted. But she continued to suggest that Latino Trump supporters do not truly understand or believe in Trump’s immigration agenda. “No, no, but slave— the ones that vote for people who believe in strong or Trump’s immigration policy. So, so I don’t believe that the people that voted for Trump believe in what they’re actually getting.”
Her attempt to walk back the language did little to soften the impact. For many viewers, Crockett’s explanation raised further questions about whether she stands by her comparison or is distancing herself now that she is seeking higher office.
The controversy comes at a delicate moment for Crockett, who just launched a Senate bid aimed at unseating Republican Sen. John Cornyn in Texas. Crockett has claimed she can turn Texas blue, despite the state’s strong Republican lean. She also told CNN she does not need Trump voters to win—an eyebrow-raising statement in a state where millions of residents voted for the president.
The exchange with Tapper highlights a broader challenge for Democrats: Trump made major inroads with Latino voters in both 2020 and 2024, particularly among men and working-class families. Crockett’s comments suggest a misunderstanding of why many Hispanics support strong border security and reject the left’s immigration messaging. Her rhetoric risks reinforcing the perception that some Democrats dismiss or look down on minority voters who don’t fall in line politically.
As Crockett’s Senate campaign begins, she now faces the task of explaining her inflammatory remarks while trying to compete in a state where Latino voters have proven they are willing to back conservative candidates—and reject narratives that insult their judgment.
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