Gov. Greg Abbott embraces ‘Hot Wheels’ nickname in viral social media post

Looks like Texas Gov. Greg Abbott may have a sense of humor after all.

The state’s Republican governor appears to have embraced the nickname “Governor Hot Wheels” in a viral social media post after U.S. Rep. Jasmine Crockett, a North Texas Democrat, referred to him by the same epithet during a banquet in Los Angeles on Saturday.

Crockett has received blowback from both sides of the aisle for appearing to mock Abbott’s use of a wheelchair. However, she later asserted in a tweet that she was referring to the “planes, trains, and automobiles” the governor used to ship migrants out the state.

Whatever the case, Abbott on Thursday retweeted a photo that shows him in a wheelchair and decked out in a superhero costume.

“Gotta add this to my resume,” Abbott captioned the image. “Need the outfit. They see me rollin’.”

The image was first posted by controversial former NFL wide receiver Antonio Brown, who dubbed Abbott the “Cracker of the Day.”

Brandon Herrera, a YouTube gun influencer who ran a failed South Texas congressional campaign, commented, “This right here is how you properly take a joke.”

Meanwhile, others, including X user @JoelWil28372639, contributed their own images of “Governor Hot Wheels.”

Abbott was paralyzed in 1984 when an oak tree fell on him while he was jogging. He sued both the homeowner and tree trimming service that inspected the tree, ultimately winning a settlement that pays him an annual six-figure income for the rest of his life, according to the Texas Tribune.

“Money doesn’t heal anything,” Abbott told the Tribune in a 2013 interview. “Money doesn’t allow me to walk. It doesn’t allow me to dance with my wife. It doesn’t allow me to pick up my daughter. It doesn’t allow me to walk my daughter down the aisle when she gets married. If you could name the person I could write the check to, I’d send all this money right back if I could wall again.”

Even so, Abbott’s actions since the incident have drawn criticism from trial lawyers and advocates for people with disabilities.

During his time as a Texas Supreme Court Justice and Attorney General, Abbott made it harder for Texans to win what he called “frivolous” lawsuits similar to the one he won more than four decades ago.

“It would be next to impossible to get the kind of settlement we got,” Abbott’s attorney in the tree lawsuit, Don Riddle, told the Houston Chronicle last year.

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This article appears in Mar 19 – Apr 1, 2025.