Hard At Work: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Guest Judges ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) was a guest judge on Friday’s episode of RuPaul’s Drag Race, accepting praise from a group of men dressed as women for standing up to “evil” President Donald Trump.

“You standing up to that man every day — how can we all complain about anything, when you literally stand in the face of what I think is the worst part of our nature as humans?” said drag queen Jackie Cox to Ocasio-Cortez on Friday. Another drag queen yelled “evil” to describe the president as another echoed that description.

“You stand up against him, and you say, ‘No,'” Jackie Cox said.

“The people who change what people think are artists and drag queens, and let’s not forget who threw that first brick at Stonewall.” ✊🌈💓 – @AOC #DragRace #Untucked pic.twitter.com/vrfFFzZP9j

— RuPaul's Drag Race (@RuPaulsDragRace) April 11, 2020

Ocasio-Cortez responded by telling the group of men clad in women’s clothing that they are still standing up to the President Trump by living their lives and strutting down the runway.

“But we all do it in our own way,” said Ocasio-Cortez. “People think congress and government is all about leading people, but ultimately, a lot of our politics is about following the public will.”

“And the people who change what people think are artists, and drag queens,” the congresswoman continued.

“And let’s not forget who threw that first brick at Stonewall,” added Ocasio-Cortez, referring to a series of violent riots by the LGBT community in response to a police raid of a gay bar in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City in 1969.

Cox also told Ocasio-Cortez how much he loves seeing her work “in solidarity” with representatives Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) and Ilhan Omar (D-MN), because his mother is an immigrant from Iran and the drag queen had felt the need to “hide” that he has Iranian heritage.

“I do have to say, it is crazy to meet you,” said a tearful Cox to Ocasio-Cortez. “Seeing you working in congress in solidarity with congresswoman Tlaib and congresswoman Omar gives me so much hope for our country.”

“My mom immigrated from Iran, and people would tell her to go home and go back to where she came from,” he added. “And when I was young, I hid this part of my heritage for so long.”

“I’m so thankful that your mother is here and part of our country,” responded Ocasio-Cortez.

The congresswoman went on to call the group of drag queens “patriots.”

“You are patriots,” affirmed Ocasio-Cortez. “And I am so proud of you all. I’m so proud to live within this country with you, and with your mother, and with all of us as family.”

You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.