Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) championed her working-class bonafides and those of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris during a rousing, prime-time speaking slot Monday to kick off the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
Speaking to a packed audience that chanted her name so loudly she had to temporarily stop speaking, Ocasio-Cortez took repeated and marked jabs at the former President Donald Trump.
“Donald Trump would sell this country for a dollar if it meant lining his own pockets and greasing the palms of his Wall Street friends,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
“I’m tired of hearing how a two-bit union-buster thinks of himself as more of a patriot than the woman who fights every single day to lift working people out from under the boots of greed,” she continued. “The truth is Don, you cannot love this country if you only fight for the wealthy and big business.”
In concert with the more progressive tone of the Harris-Walz campaign, organizers reportedly contacted AOC about speaking during the coveted time slot Monday. In a nod to the left of the party, AOC said Harris is “working tirelessly to secure a ceasefire in Gaza.”
Ocasio-Cortez also used the opportunity to address criticism from Republicans who say she should go back to being a bartender. “I’m happy to,” Ocasio-Cortez proudly declared. “Any day of the week because there is nothing wrong with working for a living.”
Subscribe Today
Get daily emails in your inbox
The 34-year-old Bronx congresswoman, who easily won reelection in New York’s 14th Congressional district in June, touted the Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris as a middle-class candidate who will represent middle-class voters.
“In Kamala Harris, we have a chance to elect a president who is for the middle class because she is from the middle class,” AOC argued in the conclusion to her seven-minute speech.. “If you are a working parent trying to afford rent and childcare, Kamala is for you. If you’re a senior who has to go back to work because your retirement didn’t stretch far enough. Kamala is for you. If you’re an immigrant family just starting your American story, Kamala is for you.”
The New York Congresswoman thanked God, thanked the crowd, and received a prolonged standing ovation as she exited the stage.
Read the full article here