Leftist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is rumored to be a candidate in the 2028 presidential election, immediately drawing laughter and mockery from critics on social media.
Ocasio-Cortez’s name “always bubbles to the top” when Democrats discuss the party’s future, The Hill noted Friday in a compilation list of potential presidential contenders.
One leftist strategist claimed the congresswoman has impressed Democrats by cutting “through the BS and telling it like it is.” This positive characterization sharply contrasted with online comments from users on X.
Former Rep. Matt Gaetz reacted to the news by jesting, “Alex has told people she’s running in 2028 since 2019.”
Alex has told people she’s running in 2028 since 2019. https://t.co/ulDnkozFod
— Former Congressman Matt Gaetz (@FmrRepMattGaetz) November 29, 2024
This comment appears to reference the suggestion made by some Democrats in 2020 that Ocasio-Cortez would have been a presidential “front-runner” had she not been so young.
One user shared Ocasio-Cortez’s infamous crying photo at the southern border, with a Trump-Vance sign photoshopped into the image.
Good. lol pic.twitter.com/Kosuy1sJ7F
— I Love America News (@ILA_NewsX) November 29, 2024
Another user shared an AI-generated image of Ocasio-Cortez as a swamp-like comic villain, with incoming Vice President JD Vance’s face photoshopped onto a Captain America costume in the image.
“Think of the memes!” the second user said, predicting that an Ocasio-Cortez candidacy would invite mockery.
BENNY! THINK OF THE MEMES! pic.twitter.com/pxpAxFQKAA
— Brick Suit (@Brick_Suit) November 29, 2024
Podcast host and author Alec Lace mocked Ocasio-Cortez by recalling how her endorsement of outgoing Rep. Jamaal Bowman failed to save him from losing his Democratic primary.
Ask Bowman how much her endorsement meant https://t.co/AqiwB04O6W
— Alec Lace (@AlecLace) November 29, 2024
A second Democratic strategist told The Hill that Ocasio-Cortez and her leftist “Squad” are deemed too controversial.
“She and the ‘squad’ started pushing too hard, too fast,” the Democrat said. “D.C. doesn’t work that way. And our party doesn’t work that way. We need to get back to the basics.”
A potential Ocasio-Cortez candidacy could mirror outgoing Vice President Kamala Harris’s first presidential bid in 2020.
Harris launched her campaign as a progressive leader but ultimately failed to make it to the primaries.
Her campaign was plagued by controversy, wasteful spending and ineffective staff. Four years later, Harris would renounce most of her leftist policies in a failed bid to appear moderate.
