In the latest clash between former President Donald Trump and his critics, Democratic Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett of Texas delivered a fiery and uncompromising response after Trump disgustingly referred to her as a “very low IQ person” during an Oval Office exchange. The insult, which many observers immediately recognized as a racist dog whistle aimed at a rising Black female lawmaker, has only emboldened Crockett, who used the opportunity to rally Americans against what she described as Trump’s ongoing assault on democracy itself.

Trump’s Latest Attack

During a back-and-forth with reporters inside the Oval Office, Trump was asked about Crockett’s comments on his legal maneuvers against political opponents. He interrupted the question with sneering contempt.

“Jasmine Crockett? Remember what I said? Is she a relation to the late, great Davy Crockett? I don’t think so,” Trump mocked, drawing laughter from his aides. “She’s a very low IQ person. I can’t even believe she’s a congressperson.”

It was a classic Trump moment: belittling, dismissive, and rooted in his long-running pattern of using racially coded language to undermine the intelligence of Black Americans. Just as he once demanded that Barack Obama release his transcripts and repeatedly attacked Rep. Maxine Waters with similar rhetoric, Trump turned his fire on Crockett, hoping to degrade her stature with one cheap line.

But Crockett was not about to let it slide.

Crockett’s Defiant Response

Appearing on MSNBC with host Chris Hayes, Crockett responded with the same unflinching energy that has made her a rising star in the Democratic Party. “Here’s the thing,” she began, her voice steady but forceful. “I want the American people to know that when you stand up to a bully, you win. Do not back down. Do not bend. You allow them to go and wage their threats.”

The Texas congresswoman tied Trump’s latest insult to a broader and more dangerous campaign of political retaliation. She pointed to his efforts to push Attorney General Pam Bondi and the Justice Department to pursue politically motivated prosecutions — from former FBI Director James Comey to New York Attorney General Letitia James and even Democratic Senator Adam Schiff.

“If everybody starts to bend, for sure, what is left of our democracy will be gone,” Crockett warned. “And unfortunately, that is exactly what he wants. And even more sadly, many of his followers agree with this.”

Her words carried weight not just because they were sharp and unapologetic, but because they highlighted the very stakes of the political battle ahead: the survival of democratic norms in the face of authoritarian bullying.

Calling Out Hypocrisy and Corruption

Crockett also zeroed in on the ethical decay that has followed Trump’s influence over the legal system. “I am so appalled at those who took an oath, at those that actually went to law school — many of us ended up with law school debt — and then we have to take not only the bar exam, but an ethics exam that we have to take,” she said.

Her point was blunt: the Trump era has revealed how many supposedly principled professionals were willing to throw out their ethics and weaponize the law in service of raw political power. “Now, you have people that literally either they just don’t know the law or they just don’t care,” she added.

In one striking moment, Crockett emphasized that even Democrats had their issues with James Comey — particularly around the handling of the Clinton email investigation in 2016 — but that did not justify politically motivated prosecutions. To her, the principle is simple: in America, justice must never be bent into a tool for authoritarian revenge.

Turning the Insult Back on Trump

Perhaps the most striking aspect of Crockett’s response was her refusal to engage on Trump’s chosen terms. Rather than defend her intelligence, she turned the insult back on the man who hurled it.

“How is it that you can call yourself an American or patriotic when you literally don’t understand who we are as Americans?” she asked. “When you’re okay with throwing out the Constitution, when you’re okay with someone just deciding, ‘You know what, this is the end result I want, so just figure out how to get there,’ instead of doing what you’re supposed to do?”

Crockett framed Trump not as an intelligent adversary, but as a threat to the very core of American democracy — and in doing so, she exposed the emptiness of his insult.

The Racist Dog Whistle

Trump’s labeling of Crockett as “low IQ” is part of a long-standing racist trope he has repeatedly deployed against Black political figures. By using language that casts doubt on their intelligence, Trump plays to a segment of his base that clings to white supremacist beliefs about intellectual superiority.

The irony, however, could not be more glaring. Trump himself routinely struggles with even basic articulation. Just this week he went viral for butchering the pronunciation of “acetaminophen” and for delivering a bizarre statement that left listeners shaking their heads: “Nothing bad can happen, it can only good happen.”

For someone who styles himself as a genius, Trump’s frequent verbal blunders and shallow grasp of policy betray a deep intellectual insecurity. When stacked against Crockett’s sharp, incisive commentary, his “low IQ” attack collapses under its own weight.

A Battle Bigger Than One Insult

The exchange between Trump and Crockett is about more than two personalities trading barbs. It reflects a deeper struggle in American politics: the clash between authoritarianism and democratic resilience. Crockett embodies the latter. She is a freshman lawmaker unafraid to speak truth to power, willing to take the hits from Trump’s MAGA machine, and determined to remind Americans of what is at stake.

Trump, on the other hand, continues to weaponize insults, lies, and intimidation tactics — not because they elevate debate, but because they are the only tools he knows.

As Crockett herself put it, “If he decides that he wants to continue down this path, I think that they’re going to continue to lose.”

Whether Trump truly loses remains to be seen, but what is certain is that Jasmine Crockett has emerged from this latest episode not as a victim of his insult, but as a fighter ready to stand her ground — and to remind America that bullies only win when we let them.