Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-Texas) made comments about First Lady Melania Trump's immigration history during a hearing on Capitol Hill on Wednesday -- and it's since spurred disturbing racist attacks online.
During a House Committee on the Judiciary hearing, Crockett slammed President Donald Trump's immigration policies and the mass raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. She also questioned the legitimacy of the intended focus of Wednesday's hearing, which was titled "Restoring Integrity and Security to the Visa Process."
"The idea that Trump and my Republican colleagues want to restore integrity and security in the visa process is actually a joke," she said, adding, "Integrity is not revoking visas based on social media posts that hurts somebody's little feelings."
Crockett then pivoted to the first lady, charging that there's been a "lack of integrity when it comes to the president's family's visas."
"Let me remind y'all that Melania, the first lady -- a model, and when I say model, I'm not talking about Tyra Banks, Cindy Crawford or Naomi Campbell-level -- applied for and was given an EB-1 visa."
Crockett then said that in order to obtain an EB-1 visa, also known as the "Einstein visa," you're supposed to have "some sort of significant achievement, like being awarded a Nobel Peace Prize or a Pulitzer," she said, before listing off other examples of accolades.
"Last time I checked, the first lady had none of those accolades under her belt," Crockett said. "It doesn't take an Einstein to see that the math ain't math-ing here."
Much of the right-wing attacks against Crockett on social media in response went beyond any criticism surrounding her opinions about the first lady -- many comments about the congresswoman resorted to vile, racist and stereotypical attacks.
People on X, formerly Twitter, called Crockett "ghetto trash," and "low IQ." Other X users made offensive remarks about the way she speaks.
Deepak Sarma, an inaugural distinguished scholar in the public humanities at Case Western Reserve University, told HuffPost that Crockett's remarks at Wednesday's hearing were "merely pointing out the hypocrisy that is a fundamental part of the GOP/ MAGA's position and platform."
"Interestingly it seems structurally like the belief in American exceptionalism, except here, exceptionalism is achieved by merely being born 'white,'" they said. "Rules apply to others but not to the privileged."
The requirement for the EB-1 visa currently listed on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website states that it's reserved for "priority workers," including those with "extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics." Back in 2018, The Washington Post published a report saying that Melania Trump, who first came to the U.S. in the mid-1990s and became a citizen in 2006, received the EB-1 visa in 2001.
In 2016, an attorney for the first lady wrote in a letter at the time, per The Associated Press, that she applied for a green card in 2000 by self-sponsoring herself as a model of "extraordinary ability," and that she received the green card in 2001.
Crockett has long faced racist and anti-Black attacks online. She's also often ridiculed for the way she speaks, her cadence, or her use of African American Vernacular English (AAVE).
In April, Fox News host Laura Ingraham referred to the representative as "street," while swaying her head side-to-side, during a TV segment of "The Ingraham Angle."
Sarma said that the online attacks at Crockett following Wednesday’s hearing ironically "emerges from a place of tremendous insecurity and low self-esteem."
"By attacking Rep. Crockett in racist ways, they confirm their impotence and incompetence," they said. "They are aware of their hypocrisy, and Crockett exposes them deftly and without reservation. Her blunt comment threatens their delusions and their fantasy of white superiority and exceptionalism. Coming from a person who they deem to be lower on their racial and ethnic hierarchy makes her words sting even more."
"That Crockett offers her insightful/ inciteful criticism in African American Vernacular English is further cause for the implosion of their racial constructions," they added.
"I bet they won't say these inexcusably nasty things to Rep. Crockett's face," said Shaun Harper, a professor of education, business and public policy at the University of Southern California.
"I am sure that Rep. Crockett ignores these cowards because she is smart enough to distinguish hate and racism from helpful, reasonably critical feedback," he later continued, before adding: "Rep. Crockett is one of the most courageous Democrats in Congress. This exposes her to online abuse at the intersection of race and gender. So far, it has not broken her. I am confident that it never will."
Harper, in fact, knows all too well what it's like being on the receiving end of hateful online attacks.
Coincidentally, Harper was also on Capitol Hill on Wednesday. He was testifying about the importance of initiatives, trainings and programs that center diversity, equity and inclusion.
Within 24 hours, he received emails and social media posts with people calling him a slew of racist and homophobic slurs, including the N-word and "f*ggot."
Wednesday was the fourth time Harper had testified before Congress -- and he's experienced these kinds of attacks each time, he said.
Speaking about the attacks on Crockett and the current political climate, Sarma later emphasized that the "current state of affairs is toxic."
"It is hard not to ignore it, stop reading the news, and succumb to futility," they said. "This, of course, is the intention of MAGA. Their racism is becoming more brazen and more blatant."