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The Democratic National Convention kicked off on Monday (August 19) in Chicago, and the early returns suggest that things are off to a roaring start. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez delivered one of the more fiery speeches of the evening, aiming at Donald Trump and his record of busting unions while also praising Vice President Kamala Harris.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was among several Democratic Party stars to deliver standout speeches, including former First Lady and Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, Sen. Raphael Warnock, and a spirited showing from President Joe Biden.
Ocasio-Cortez’s speech opened with how just six years prior, she was working as a waitress in New York City after graduating from Boston College. During that time, Ocasio-Cortez worked alongside her mother to fight foreclosure on their home.
As the speech rolled on, Ocasio-Cortez aimed her attention at Donald Trump, attacking the former president on rumored financial cronyism among other digs.
“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 during the speech to loud applause.
She added, “And I, for one, am tired of hearing about 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, trampling on our way of life.”
Ocasio-Cortez also used her speech to graciously praise President Biden for his leadership and framed Vice President Harris and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz as champions for the middle class. This too also garnered heavy applause from the attendees at the United Center.
On X, formerly Twitter, the reactions to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s speech at the Democratic National Convention have been plentiful. We’ve got them listed down below.
A video of the speech is posted below, courtesy of PBS NewsHour.
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Photo: ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / Getty
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Source: Kevin Mazur/MG21 / Getty
A lawyer representing Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has blasted a move to launch an ethics investigation into her expenses in relation to the 2021 Met Gala she attended..
According to reports, the Democratic representative from New York is now under investigation by the House Ethics Committee in relation to her appearance at the Met Gala fundraiser in 2021. The probe was reportedly announced last year but didn’t specify what it was looking into. But in documents released on Thursday (March 2nd), it was mentioned that her “Tax the Rich” dress along with shoes, jewelry, and a handbag along with hairstyling for the event was in question. Her boyfriend Riley Roberts was also provided with a bowtie and a suit for the event. The announcement of the probe came on the same day it was announced that the committee was looking into controversial Republican Representative George Santos.
“This matter definitely does not rise to the level of a violation of House Rules or of federal law. No Ethics violation has been found,” said David Mitriani, a lawyer representing Ocasio-Cortez in a letter sent to the chief counsel of the House Ethics Committee. The congresswoman had previously retained counsel to help her ensure that House rules were followed prior to the Met Gala.
But while the items she and her now-fiancee received are now paid for, there was a delay in those payments until months after the investigation began last year. Vendors involved had sent out invoices to her office which weren’t answered. Ocasio-Cortez stated that “there was a ball that was dropped” and that it was a “regrettable” situation. “I feel l terrible for especially the small businesses that were impacted,” she told investigators. A former staffer with her office accepted responsibility. “I think the delay there for me was I didn’t have access to her personal credit card at that moment,” the staffer said.
A spokesperson for her office, Lauren Hitt, said: “However, while regrettable, these delayed payments definitively do not rise to the level of a violation of House rules. Even after OCE’s exhaustive review of the congresswoman’s personal communications, there is no record of the congresswoman refusing to pay for these expenses. To the contrary, there are several explicit, documented communications, from prior to OCE’s review, that show the congresswoman understood that she had to pay for these expenses from her own personal funds – as she ultimately did.”
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez condemned her Republican colleagues in a fiery speech on the House of Representatives floor over their hypocrisy and racism.
On Thursday (February 2nd), the Republican majority prepared to vote to remove Representative Ilhan Omar (D-MN) from the Foreign Affairs Committee. Their reasoning was tied to claims that Ms. Omar was over comments that she made in the past that they deemed antisemitic.
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez took to the House floor to call out the GOP members’ hypocrisy as she defended her Democratic colleague. “Now as also as a fellow New Yorker, I think one of the things we should talk about here is also one of the disgusting legacies of 9/11 has been the targeting and racism against Muslim Americans throughout the United States of America. And this is an extension of that legacy,” she began.
Her voice rising, Ocasio-Cortez referenced her treatment by far-right Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ), who had previously attacked her with an offensive tweet. “I had a member of the Republican caucus threaten my life,” she said. “And the Republican caucus rewarded him with one of the most prestigious committee assignments. Don’t tell me this is about consistency.”
She would go on to attack Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene for her racism & conspiracy theories including “Jewish space lasers”, remarking that House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has already rewarded her with plum committee assignments for her support of his speakership. Ocasio-Cortez finished her speech, punctuating it by slapping her book on the podium: “This is about targeting women of color in the United States of America. Don’t tell me, because I didn’t get a single apology when my life was threatened. Thank you.”
Rep. Omar, who is one of two women Muslim representatives elected to the House along with Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) in 2018, has been a constant target of right-wingers. Before the 218-211 vote to remove her, she spoke on the floor, saying: “I am Muslim. I am an immigrant. And interestingly, from Africa,” Ms. Omar said. “Is anyone surprised that I am being targeted?” She concluded amid the applause of her Democratic colleagues: “Take your vote or not — I am here to stay.”
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