House

Ocasio-Cortez hits Trump for ‘disrespect’ over calling her AOC during debates

by Morgan Gstalter - 10/23/20 9:51 AM ET

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Thursday hit back at President Trump after he referred to her as “AOC” during the presidential debate, saying it is an advertisement for his “disrespect of women.”

“If someone told me 3 years ago, while I was waitressing to help my family stay afloat, that in a few short years an unhinged President of the United States would be repeatedly saying my name at the 2020 debate, I would’ve brought them some water and told them to sober up,” the first-term lawmaker wrote on Twitter.

If someone told me 3 years ago, while I was waitressing to help my family stay afloat, that in a few short years an unhinged President of the United States would be repeatedly saying my name at the 2020 debate, I would’ve brought them some water and told them to sober up.

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) October 23, 2020

Trump name-dropped Ocasio-Cortez as he debated Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on climate change and the Green New Deal she introduced into Congress, referring to her repeatedly by her initials “AOC.”

Ocasio-Cortez knocked Vice President Pence for also using the same nickname during the vice presidential debate earlier this month.

“I wonder if Republicans understand how much they advertise their disrespect of women in debates when they consistently call women members of Congress by nicknames or first names while using titles & last names when referring to men of = stature,” she questioned on Thursday. “Women notice. It conveys a lot.”

She added that “AOC” is a name that was given to her by “community and the people,” noting that her Twitter followers and constituents can refer to her as such.

“Government colleagues referring to each other in a public or professional context (aka who don’t know me like that) should refer to their peers as ‘Congresswoman,’ ‘Representative,’etc. Basic respect 101,” she wrote.

AOC is a name given to me by community & the people. Y’all can call me AOC.

Government colleagues referring to each other in a public or professional context (aka who don’t know me like that) should refer to their peers as “Congresswoman,” “Representative,”etc. Basic respect 101

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) October 23, 2020

Trump often uses the phrase “AOC plus three” in reference to Ocasio-Cortez and her Democratic colleagues Reps. Ayanna Pressley (Mass.), Ilhan Omar (Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (Mich.), collectively known as “the squad.”

“They know nothing about the climate,” Trump said. “I mean she’s got a good line of stuff but she knows nothing about the climate, and they’re all hopping through hoops for AOC plus three. Not a real plan, it costs $100 trillion.”

The progressive firebrand immediately reacted on Twitter.

“It’s actually AOC plus 115 because that’s how many House and Senate members have cosponsored the most ambitious climate legislation in American history,” she wrote.

It’s actually AOC plus 115 because that’s how many House and Senate members have cosponsored the most ambitious climate legislation in American history.

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) October 23, 2020

She seized on his line about her having a “good line of stuff” and directed her 9.3 million Twitter followers to her campaign store, which features Green New Deal merchandise.

Oh, I’ve got a good line of stuff alright: https://t.co/sb4dlM5a2n pic.twitter.com/tNc2dcNkbH

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) October 23, 2020

Trump frequently goes after Ocasio-Cortez, who in 2018 became the youngest women elected to Congress when she defeated 10-term Democratic incumbent Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.), and the other nonwhite progressive women of the squad.

The president faced backlash last year when he told the group of female lawmakers that they should “go back and help fix the totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.”

Omar was born Mogadishu, Somalia, before coming to the U.S. as a refugee with her family. Pressley was born in Cincinnati, while Tlaib was born in Detroit. Ocasio-Cortez was born in New York.

Pressley brushed off Trump’s latest attempts to criticize them after the debate.

“Living in his head rent free is something,” Pressley tweeted, sharing an image of the four lawmakers.