Ocasio-Cortez: Biden and I ‘Would Not Be in the Same Party’ in Any Other Country

Far-left “Squad” member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), in a Monday interview with New York Magazine, distanced herself from presidential hopeful Joe Biden (D), proclaiming that they would “not be in the same party” in any other country.

The freshman lawmaker, who endorsed Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) for president, discussed the changing dynamics of the Democrat party and suggested that one party — for all of those on the left — is too broad.

“Democrats can be too big of a tent,” she explained.

When asked what her role in Congress would be in a Biden presidency, Ocasio-Cortez “groaned.”

“Oh God,” she told the outlet. “In any other country, Joe Biden and I would not be in the same party, but in America, we are.”

It is far from the first time Ocasio-Cortez has noted the distinction between herself and other Democrats within the caucus.

She and the far-left members of the “Squad” ruffled feathers over the summer, particularly with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA). The back-and-forth reached a boiling point after Pelosi accepted a bipartisan emergency funding package over a version backed by the “Squad.”

“All these people have their public whatever and their Twitter world,” Pelosi said in a July 6 interview with the New York Times. “But they didn’t have any following. They’re four people and that’s how many votes they got.”

“That public ‘whatever’ is called public sentiment,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote in response. “And wielding the power to shift it is how we actually achieve meaningful change in this country”:

That public “whatever” is called public sentiment.

And wielding the power to shift it is how we actually achieve meaningful change in this country. https://t.co/u6JtgwwRsk

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 7, 2019

Ocasio-Cortez continued to openly criticize Pelosi on Twitter, tweeting a series of quotes from the speaker in an effort to defend herself:

“A glass of water could’ve [beat a 20-yr incumbt]”
“The Green Dream or whatever”
“Their public whatever”

Those aren’t quotes from me; they‘re from the Speaker. Having respect for ourselves doesn’t mean we lack respect for her.

It means we won’t let everyday people be dismissed. https://t.co/VMRkcd8xlL

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 8, 2019

Pelosi reprimanded Democrats in a closed-door caucus meeting that summer for airing their grievances on social media.

“So, again, you got a complaint? You come and talk to me about it,” Pelosi said. “But do not tweet about our members and expect us to think that that is just ok.”

While the two eventually met, leading Pelosi to conclude that they do “not have that many differences,” the tension was emblematic of Ocasio-Cortez’s complaints of a party that is far too broad.

Ocasio-Cortez also told the magazine that the upcoming Democrat primary is “about the soul of the Democratic Party.”

“I think it’s a referendum on whether we think everything was fine before Trump,” she continued.

“People who live in a lot of privilege, who think of public programs as charity, they often think there was nothing wrong before Trump. They think Hillary was the problem,” she added. “But it’s much deeper than that.”