Rep. Jasmine Crockett says Democrats need to be 'OK with punching' in races against Ted Cruz, Republicans

"I think you punch," Crockett said in an interview when asked how Democrats turn things around. "I think you're OK with punching."

"The reality is we're dealing with an administration that is lawless and disrespectful and so the idea that we're still going to be nice and friendly and kind and try to look for some sense of normalcy when we're literally living in a time that is anything but normal. I think that we've got to get comfortable with letting our hair down a little bit," Crockett told NBC 5's Phil Prazan and Gromer Jeffers from the Dallas Morning News.

Crockett said right now it needs to be clear to voters that Democrats "are not weak."

"And I don't know that anybody believes that we're not weak," she said. 

"I think that as empathetic [as] we are, we need to show that we have always been the party that will fight for what's right for all people," Crockett said. "So we really are fighters."

Crockett said Allred started to be tougher toward the end of his 2024 Senate race.

"And I love Colin, and I think toward the end he started to punch a little harder," she continued. "But, like, it's Ted Cruz. I mean, this dude has to be knocked over the head, like hard, right? Like there is no niceties with him. Like at all. Like you go clean off on him."

Being more aggressive in their messaging will only help voters feel more connected to the candidate, she argued.

Some conservative X accounts accused Crockett of "inciting violence" with her remarks.

Crockett has taken a more aggressive approach with her politics than many of her colleagues since taking office.