President Trump has called out radical progressive Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez many times since she took office less than two years ago. The leader of “The Squad” in Congress and de facto poster child for the Justice Democrats has rankled many conservatives during her short time in office after a meteoric rise from bartender to main advocate in the House for the Green New Deal. But the President offered her encouragement Sunday night as rumors started spreading that she might challenge Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for his seat in 2022.
Actually, that would be a big improvement – and she would win! https://t.co/EzmOjNtYJS
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 22, 2020
The President’s feud with Schumer predates AOC’s ascension in the ranks in Congress. Once friendly, the two have butted heads nearly as much as the President and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. But prospects of the freshman Congresswoman taking on the most powerful Democrat in the Senate seemed to be a welcomed development to President Trump.
Ocasio-Cortez rose to prominence after defeating longtime Congressman Joe Crowley in New York’s 14th District Democratic primary in 2018. She went on to win the seat easily in the heavily blue district and has been a thorn in the side of Republicans as well as fellow Democrats ever since. She is the embodiment of what the Justice Democrats hope to create, a young and charismatic candidate with multiple intersectionality boxes checked to go with a radical leftist ideology.
But she faces multiple competitors in the upcoming New York primary for her seat, and while she is expected to win easily, it won’t be without a fight. She has had to spend some money in her massive war chest to assure she gets to continue being the prime social justice warrior in Congress, a sign that some have already tired of her brand of extremism. As the Washington Times noted, she has had to put out expensive television ads to make sure she doesn’t suffer the same fate she once dealt to Crowley.
Before anything happens, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez must defend her seat Tuesday against three challengers, including Michelle Caruso-Cabrera, a former business journalist and CNBC host.
In her closing campaign ad, Ms. Ocascio-Cortez is telling voters that the fallout from COVID-19, mass unemployment and racism in law enforcement have exposed a broken system of governance.
“What if these broken systems weren’t built to last in the first place? What if a better world is possible?” she says in a campaign ad. “People are coming together in an unprecedented movement to build this better future and a better world.
“It is time to bring the movement to the voting booth,” she says.
Could AOC defeat Schumer? Those prospects are low at this stage, but if she wins reelection she’ll have two more years to build her brand and make her point before having to run for Senate. We’ll see what happens between now and then.
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