Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) once again had to step into school DEI critic Scott Jennings for blaming the devastating Los Angeles-area wildfires on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
During an appearance on CNN’s NewsNight, Jennings, a frequent commentator, discussed the wildfires, already labeled as the worst in California’s history, as a result of DEI practices by Los Angeles Fire Department (LAFD) Chief Kristin Crowley, a white woman, and Mayor Karen Bass, a Black woman.
When Jennings alleged that DEI advocates’ efforts to increase diversity in the department, after claims of “too many white men” being hired as firefighters, as the reason for a lack of fire control, Crockett took the wheel to divert the narrative. “Let me be clear: because you are a woman.. because I
know some of the rights, I have been sharing these photos of the fact that I believe that the fire chief may be a woman, which has nothing to do with it. We are looking at qualifications where diversity, equity, and inclusion have always been about saying, ‘You know what? Open this up. Don’t just look at the white man. Open it up and recognize that other people can be qualified,’” she said.“And the fact that we want to, at a time where people are dying, decide that a country of immigrants is failing or people are dying because the same very people that built this country, cause the last time I checked, yall didn’t say anything was wrong with the White House, and I can promise you it was my ancestors that built the White House.”
The passionate congresswoman continued to profess, “If we have been good enough to build this country, we are good enough to serve and die overseas; we are good enough to serve in other ways.” “And the fact that people actually decide that they want to engage in public service, whether it’s sitting in Congress or whether it’s serving in the fire department or the police department, should not be an issue,” Crockett said.
Crockett’s sentiments were celebrated on social media, while Jennings was seemingly dragged for his thoughts. “Scott Jennings needs to take his toys and go home. @JasmineForUS
is in the house, and she can our word-wrestle him any day, any time,” @MairseyDotes said on X.“Someone needs to send firefighters to CNN because Jennings got BURNED!” @ajdiva99 said.
However, the commentator is simply following the lead of President-elect Donald J. Trump, who blamed the fires on California Gov. Gavin Newsom for embracing environmental issues. Trump said the focus led to LAFD’s inability to contain the fires. “Governor Gavin Newscum refused to sign the water restoration declaration put before him that would have allowed millions of gallons of water, from excess rain and snowmelt from the North, to flow daily into many parts of California, including the areas that are currently burning in a virtually apocalyptic way,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform, according to Wired.
“He wanted to protect an essentially worthless fish called a smelt by giving it less water (it didn’t work!), but didn’t care about the people of California.”
Sirius XM’s Megyn Kelly sounded off, stating that DEI programs distracted them from firefighting duties. “In recent years, LA’s fire chief has made not filling the fire hydrants top priority, but diversity,” Kelly said during a segment on The Megyn Kelly Show. “Diversity is at least among the top priorities for the department.”
RELATED CONTENT: Nick Cannon Reflects On Lupus Journey, Calling Himself The ‘Black Tony Stark’