Former President Donald Trump took to social media last week to mock Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett, this time reaching back to the 1950s to do it. His post featured a clip of actor Fess Parker playing Davy Crockett, set to the old Disney tune The Ballad of Davy Crockett, and suggested the legendary frontiersman would be proud of the congresswoman’s political career. Given the timing, coming shortly after Crockett lost her primary bid for a Texas Senate seat, the message was unmistakably sarcastic.
Trump implied that Davy Crockett and Jasmine Crockett share a familial connection, calling the frontiersman a man of high intelligence and suggesting the same could not be said for the congresswoman. It was the kind of post Trump has deployed repeatedly against political opponents, particularly Black women in Congress, leaning on the phrase low IQ as a rhetorical weapon. The pattern has drawn sustained criticism from political observers who see it less as political commentary and more as a reflexive attempt to diminish.
What Crockett actually said in response
Crockett did not let the post go unanswered. She responded on social media by pointing out that Trump appeared to be spending a considerable amount of time thinking about her, suggesting he would miss her presence when her term ends. She made clear that she intends to stay active in her congressional role through January and has no plans to slow down in the meantime. The response was measured but firm, and it landed well with her supporters.
She also raised the possibility that Trump’s attention was connected to her recent questioning of Pam Bondi, his former attorney general. Whether or not that was the direct trigger, the exchange fit a broader pattern: Crockett has been one of the more combative Democratic voices in Congress when it comes to holding Trump-aligned officials accountable, and Trump has responded in kind.
The Davy Crockett reference carried more weight than Trump likely intended
The choice of Davy Crockett as a vehicle for mockery opened up a more complicated line of discussion than Trump’s post probably anticipated. The historical Crockett was a three-term congressman from Tennessee who, unlike many of his contemporaries, publicly opposed Andrew Jackson’s Indian Removal Act. That legislation led directly to the forced displacement of tens of thousands of Indigenous people in what became known as the Trail of Tears.
The irony was not lost on people who follow Trump’s public statements. He has long expressed admiration for Jackson, one of the most controversial figures in American history precisely because of those policies. Using Davy Crockett, a man who bucked Jackson on one of the defining moral questions of his era, as a stand-in for mockery cuts against the political identity Trump has spent years constructing.
The Disney song itself, originally recorded in 1954, contains lyrics that reflect attitudes toward Native Americans common in that era but widely recognized today as harmful. Its inclusion in Trump’s post drew additional attention to those layers, though it is unclear whether the choice was intentional or simply an artifact of the cultural nostalgia the song carries for older American audiences.
Crockett’s political standing after the primary loss
Crockett’s loss in the Democratic primary to James Talarico marked a significant turn in her political trajectory. She had chosen to run for Senate rather than seek reelection to her current House seat in Texas’s 30th District, a decision that left her seat open. Her pastor, Rev. Frederick Haynes III, won the Democratic primary for that seat and is widely expected to succeed her.
She will remain in Congress until January 2027. In the months between now and then, she has shown no sign of treating the remainder of her term as a wind-down. If anything, Trump’s continued attention to her suggests she remains a political figure worth watching, even from the outside.