Ocasio-Cortez calls out Steve King, Liz Cheney amid controversy over concentration camp remarks

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) called out two Republicans on Sunday amid a controversy over remarks she made about migrant detention centers.

Ocasio-Cortez’s response came after King tweeted at the freshman congresswoman and asked her to accept a Holocaust remembrance group’s offer to tour Auschwitz. The invitation came after Ocasio-Cortez drew condemnation after comparing detention centers on the U.S. southern border to concentration camps.

Ocasio-Cortez on Sunday quickly fired back at King.

“Mr. King, the Republican party literally stripped you of your Congressional committee assignments because you were too racist even for them. My Jewish constituents have made clear to me that they proudly stand w/ caged children who are starved, denied sleep & sanitation,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted.{mosads}

King toured Holocaust sites last year on a trip funded by a Holocaust memorial nonprofit. During his trip, he reportedly met with members of an Austrian far-right political party associated with the neo-Nazi movement, according to the Des Moines Register.

The Anti-Defamation League, a Jewish nongovernmental organization, called on then-Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) to condemn King in October after reports of his meeting with the neo-Nazi group emerged. He was later stripped of his committee assignments in January after comments about white supremacy. 

Ocasio-Cortez followed up by calling on Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), who previously condemned Ocasio-Cortez for her comparison. 

“Hey @Liz_Cheney, you’re the GOP Conference Chair – perhaps you should come collect your colleague before more members of your caucus start saying the quiet parts loud,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted.

Hey @Liz_Cheney, you’re the GOP Conference Chair – perhaps you should come collect your colleague before more members of your caucus start saying the quiet parts loud

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 23, 2019

Ocasio-Cortez faced some backlash last week after comparing the detention centers to concentration camps on Instagram Live. 

She has stood by her comments and said she will “never apologize for calling these camps what they are.” 

Citing King’s reported meeting with “fringe Austrian neo-Nazi groups to talk shop,” the freshman Democrat said she’d have to decline his invite. 

“But thank you for revealing to all how transparently the far-right manipulates these moments for political gain,” Ocasio-Cortez said. 

Ocasio-Cortez added that she has zero patience for “completely certified, card-carrying and flag-waving racists.”

“They can take their little tiki torches somewhere else. We don’t give them an inch, a second, a sliver of sunlight nor the time of day. And neither should you,” she said.

I have absolutely zero patience for completely certified, card-carrying and flag-waving racists. None.

They can take their little tiki torches somewhere else.

We don’t give them an inch, a second, a sliver of sunlight nor the time of day. And neither should you.

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) June 23, 2019

“House GOP leadership stripped Mr. King of his committee assignments and he was condemned by name in a resolution on the House floor,” Ali Pardo, a spokeswoman for Cheney, said in an email to The Hill. “Meanwhile, Democrats continue to spew vile anti-Semitic sentiment and their leadership encourages it.”

“Maybe Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez and her fellow Democratic socialists should give the GOP approach a try,” she added.

Cheney was among the first Republicans to call for King to resign in January. 

The Hill has requested a comment from King.

–This report was updated on June 24 at 8:14 a.m.