National media coverage of Rep. Jasmine Crockett’s Texas Senate campaign has led to direct confrontations with journalists, including the removal of an Atlantic reporter from a rally and a call to Capitol Police over a CNN reporter’s visit to a campaign office.
Semafor shared that security personnel directed Atlantic reporter Elaine Godfrey to leave a campaign rally for Rep. Jasmine Crockett in Texas on Monday. The outlet wrote that Godfrey has reported on Crockett in depth and that the coverage appeared to “frustrate” the congresswoman. Crockett had previously agreed to participate in a profile with the reporter last year, but later informed her that she was “shutting down the profile and revoking all provisions” before the story ran.
In a statement first shared with Semafor, Atlantic editor Jeffrey Goldberg remarked, “In a democracy, elected officials answer questions from the press rather than hide from them. This is completely unacceptable behavior by Rep. Crockett and her team, and needs to be addressed immediately.”
Semafor further noted that earlier this month Crockett’s campaign contacted the U.S. Capitol Police regarding CNN reporter Edward-Isaac Dovere, asserting he may have trespassed while attempting to visit a campaign office location.
The developments raise broader questions about transparency and accountability given that Crockett is an elected official. In December, after launching her Senate campaign, Crockett dodged questions during a CNN interview about her 2024 comments comparing Latino Trump supporters to slaves. When asked whether she believed Latino Trump voters had a “slave mentality,” she said that was not what the remarks meant but did not directly answer whether she stood by the comparison, instead arguing that some voters did not believe they were getting the policies they expected.
The reported incidents also come as a recent poll found Crockett leading Talarico 56 percent to 44 percent, a 12-point advantage.
Democratic strategist James Carville expressed on the Politicon podcast that Crockett “violates the first rule of politics,” arguing that “in politics we always make it about the voters and never about yourself.” He added, “You listen to her talk. It’s a lot more about herself than it is to voters.” Carville further explained, “What wins elections is not sitting there talking about yourself,” and said winning elections is about “being part of framing issues and understanding where people are coming from,” concluding, “I don’t think Congressman Crockett is very good at that. I’ll be very frank.”
Meanwhile, President Trump, whom Crockett has urged to be impeached and has labeled an “enemy of the United States,” a “con man,” the “grim reaper,” and as “using Hitler’s playbook,” among other characterizations, maintains a record of public accountability.
Ahead of his State of the Union address, Trump expanded the traditional pre-speech luncheon with network anchors to include Breitbart editors and other new media figures. As White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt stated, “President Trump was proud to invite new media to the annual historic State of the Union network luncheon, including Breitbart, Newsmax and News Nation, all of whom deserve a seat at the highly coveted table. This just proves once again the Trump White House is the most transparent in history.”
Trump has made similar remarks about the openness of his administration’s internal operations: “I had cameras in my Cabinet meetings—almost all of them—so it’s very transparent. There’s never been an administration so transparent as this one.”
