Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has issued a surprising appeal to President Donald Trump’s voters, saying she “fully welcomes” them into her political coalition, a statement that contrasts sharply with her history of harsh criticism toward conservative activists and Republican officials.
In a video posted this week, Ocasio-Cortez said, “I want to say this right now. I fully welcome Trump voters into our coalition. And I know that sounds crazy to some people, but just hear me out.”
She described encounters with individuals who had once been “big Trump voters” and Fox News watchers, but later broadened their media sources and shifted their political views.
According to Ocasio-Cortez, these individuals “learned,” “changed,” and eventually aligned with her views.
She added that some prominent Republicans she has met in person were surprised by her, saying, “you are nothing like I was told you are.”
These moments, she claimed, demonstrate how exposure beyond a single media ecosystem can spark a longer journey of learning.
Despite this recent outreach, Ocasio-Cortez’s track record shows longstanding skepticism toward Trump supporters, as Breitbart News reported.
In 2019, during an interview on Crooked Media’s “Pod Save America,” she said many Trump supporters were “not educated enough on racism” to understand the impact of certain policies.
She claimed that a core portion of Trump’s base “were racists” and that others were “susceptible to racist views” while genuinely believing they were not racist due to a lack of education on the subject.
Ocasio-Cortez has also repeatedly clashed with conservative figures in high-profile confrontations. Last month, she took aim at women’s sports advocate Riley Gaines on social media, dismissing Gaines with, “I would like to challenge this person to get a real job,” after Gaines invited a debate. Gaines responded that motherhood was her “most important & rewarding job.”
Her past opposition extends to Republican leadership.
In October 2023, as GOP lawmakers moved to elect Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) as Speaker, Ocasio-Cortez criticized him, calling Johnson an “extremist” and a “key architect of the Jan 6th strategy to overturn the US election.”
She has also mocked White House adviser Stephen Miller, joking about his height and “insecure masculinity,” before walking back the comments and clarifying she did not intend body-shaming.
In September, Ocasio-Cortez opposed a resolution honoring conservative activist Charlie Kirk, arguing it caused “great pain” to Americans who endured segregation.
She accused Kirk of endorsing racist and anti-Semitic views and claimed the measure attempted to “weaponize this moment into an all-out assault on free speech.”
However, subsequent reporting suggested that some of his comments were taken out of context.
Ocasio-Cortez’s recent outreach to Trump voters represents a notable shift in tone, emphasizing dialogue and the potential for political realignment.
Yet her history of public confrontations with conservatives, repeated critiques of Republican leadership, and statements labeling segments of Trump’s base as racially insensitive suggest that her invitation may be more symbolic than a genuine bridge to former Trump supporters.
