Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (Democrat, New York) on Sunday reflected on Donald Trump’s success in last week’s election and engaged with supporters on social media to try to unpack the thinking that led to it.
The progressive lawmaker, who cruised to reelection in New York’s 14th congressional district, noted that many House Democrats outperformed the top of their ticket. In her district, voters swung toward Trump by a substantial margin compared to how they voted when the president-elect faced Joe Biden in 2020.
“Let’s do this right now. If you voted for Donald Trump and me, or if you voted for Donald Trump and voted Democratic down-ballot, I would really love to hear from you,” Ocasio-Cortez said during a Q&A on her Instagram story.
“This is not a place of judgment. I’m not gonna, like, put your stuff on blast or anything like that, or dunk on it. That’s like, genuinely not the intent here. I actually want to learn from you. I want to hear what you were thinking.”
She posted some of the responses, with the caption, “I’m listening.”
The responses included:
- “I feel like Trump and you are both real.”
- “I feel that you both are outsiders compared to the rest of DC, and less ‘establishment.’”
- “It’s real simple... Trump and you care for the working class.”
- “Trump is going to get us the money and let’s men have a voice. You’re brilliant and have amazing passion!”
In a second page of shared replies, the lawmaker reacted to one respondent who said “the responses you got make me want to barf.”
“Sometimes you gotta dig in and see it to understand and adapt” she said with a laughing emoji. “Even if it makes you want to barf.”
One respondent said that “as a person who is way too online, the answers are blowing my mind.”
“Y’all, this is why I say that we should be signing up to knock on doors and be on the phones,” Ocasio-Cortez replied.
She noted that the internet and mass media companies, including social media apps like Instagram and X (formerly Twitter), are influenced by the billionaires who own them.
“If you’re only tuning in to those mediums, you will think that most people fall along this spectrum,” she said. “And a lot of people don’t, and that’s why it’s important to be at the doors, and that’s why it’s important to be on the phones, and that’s why it’s never just like a little junior thing that you grow out of, but that we always need to be listening, because you will learn a lot.”
Earlier in the Q&A, the lawmaker had discussed her game plan moving forward as Democrats regroup.
“I’m going to be doing a lot more direct communication,” she said, encouraging supporters to “join and enter community right now.”
On Wednesday, as it became clear that Trump would win the presidency and Republicans had reclaimed the Senate majority, Ocasio-Cortez said the next four years would be a “very, very, very difficult, challenging time,” but urged concerned Americans to build community and prepare to fight back.
“We are about to enter a political period that will have consequences for the rest of our lives,” she said. “We cannot give up.”
Demographics that helped elect President Biden in 2020, such as Latino voters and young people, swung rightward in this election, as did much of the country, with the economy proving to be the top issue.
Ocasio-Cortez said last week the party’s “main project is to unite the working class in this country against a fascist agenda.”