Democrats Give Ocasio-Cortez Just 60 Seconds in Convention Speaking Time

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), the ringleader of the far-left “Squad,” will have just 60 seconds to deliver remarks at the Democratic National Convention next week, she confirmed on Wednesday.

While Ocasio-Cortez landed a speaker spot at the virtual convention, which will only air two hours per night, Democrat organizers are only giving the progressive firebrand 60 seconds to speak:

“I only have a minute.
Sixty seconds in it.
Forced upon me, I did not choose it,
But I know that I must use it.
Give account if I abuse it.
Suffer, if I lose it.

Only a tiny little minute,
But eternity is in it.”

– Dr. Benjamin E. Mays
(and recited by Elijah Cummings) 💜 https://t.co/ul9CE7NriV

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) August 12, 2020

Many view the short speaking slot as another slight from the establishment:

I realize there are limitations with doing this virtually, but this is absurd. AOC has done some of the most effective comms work of any Democrat in the country. 60 seconds is ridiculous. https://t.co/hsMeMVD5io

— Charlotte Clymer 🏳️‍🌈 (@cmclymer) August 13, 2020

If the Democratic party had a goddamn clue what it was doing, @AOC would be delivering the keynote address at the convention this year.https://t.co/yN44JOjIxq

— John Iadarola (@johniadarola) August 12, 2020

Also, we should fight them on this. And AOC should be given the time the majority of Democrats want to hear her, which is a lot more than one minute.

— rafael shimunov (@rafaelshimunov) August 13, 2020

Give most of those people 60 seconds combined and then give her a full hour

— josie duffy rice (@jduffyrice) August 13, 2020

Feel like we could have found an extra minute or two for @AOC. https://t.co/jXTNpIaGFu

— Sawyer Hackett (@SawyerHackett) August 13, 2020

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), whom Ocasio-Cortez endorsed during the Democrat primary race, is also included in the packed speaker lineup, although it was not immediately clear if he, too, is contained to such a severe time restraint.

Other speakers expected to address Democrats over the course of the week include former presidential candidates Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), as well as the Obamas, the Clintons, Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D-NY), former Gov. John Kasich (R-OH), and former presidential candidate Andrew Yang (D), who was given a speaker slot after expressing surprise that he was not included in the original lineup.

Ocasio-Cortez’s 60-second speaking slot does little to address the complaints and concerns from progressives, many of whom took issue with Joe Biden (D) choosing Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) as his running mate.

“The contempt for the base is, wow,” Briahna Joy Gray, former national press secretary for Sanders, remarked following the announcement.

During an appearance on Democracy Now! this week, Gray explained that there remains a “great deal of frustration” over the Biden-Harris ticket due to the Democrats’ choice “not only to nominate a candidate who is known as the author of what is actually called the Joe Biden Crime Bill, but he’s gone and also selected a running mate who is known for being the top cop from California — the state that has the second-highest number of incarcerated people in America.”