Rep. Jasmine Crockett Tells People to Stop Thinking Elon Musk Is a Genius: ‘Don’t Conflate’ Smart Hires With Real Intelligence

Elon Musk may be the richest man in the world, but Rep. Jasmine Crockett really wants people to remember that he didn’t get there on his own smarts; he was just smart enough to hire the right people.

Appearing on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” on Tuesday night, Crockett warned that the American people — and even those in politics — don’t know the true extent of the damage that Musk has inflicted with DOGE. She also warned people not to fall into the trap of thinking he did it with any real strategy based on his business experience.

“When you bring up the idiot known as Elon Musk,” Crockett started, earning cheers from the audience for the descriptor, “he is not only, like, very sinister and has no idea what he’s doing — and people are like, ‘Oh no, he absolutely knows, because he’s the richest man in the world!’ Like, yes, he knows how to hire smart people. But don’t conflate that and believe that he is the genius, because he ain’t.”

The congresswoman went on to point out that Musk “has inflicted so much harm and done so much,” that even Trump himself doesn’t talk about the man as much anymore, asking Kimmel when the last time he heard about Musk was. The late night host conceded it’s been a bit, and pieced together that Crockett was implying Trump is trying to distance himself from the billionaire.

“Yeah, because as soon as people started to look at his ratings — right? Like, he continues to have these failing ratings — so now they’re like, ‘Oh, get rid of Elon,’” she said. “But let me tell you, the stench ain’t getting off of you, Trump, honey. Like, you are a problem. He is a problem. Pete [Navarro] is a problem. All of y’all are problems!”