Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez 'Astonished' By Trump Supporter Who Backs Her, Too
While hard-line Republicans have pushed back against progressives like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over their Green New Deal resolution, the New York Democrat has found herself an unlikely new ally: a supporter of President Donald Trump.
In a series of tweets on Friday, Ocasio-Cortez said she saw a man and his teenage son putting up a sign outside of her office that read, “Trump supporters for Ocasio-Cortez.”
The sign left the congresswoman “pretty astonished,” she said in a series of tweets describing her encounter with the two.
When Ocasio-Cortez asked the father how he managed “to support both of us at the same time,” she said he replied: “I’ve been saying for years that climate change is our most important crisis. You’re one of the only ones who’s been willing to be decisive on it.”
“I like you. I can tell that you are genuine and fighting for us. You’re real and you get it,” the representative recalled the man as saying.
About an hour ago, I was walking out of my office for the day.
There was a man what I believe was his teenage son hanging a small sign they made outside my office (we let people leave well wishes on our wall).
Astonishingly, his sign read: “Trump supporters for Ocasio-Cortez.” pic.twitter.com/IjVKbvetEI— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 10, 2019
Crafted by progressive Democrats and championed by Ocasio-Cortez, the Green New Deal is a resolution that outlines a wide-reaching plan to zero out greenhouse gas emissions and generate millions of jobs in clean energy fields.
The plan homes in on overhauling the transportation sector, which plays a key factor in climate pollution, creating a sustainable food system that guarantees “universal access” to healthful food and clean water, and tackles economic inequality and racial injustice.
Republicans have challenged the viability of the climate change resolution. Earlier this month, Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) dismissed the plan as “literally impossible” and said the Democrats who crafted it lacked life experience.
In a sarcastic tweet in February, Trump called the resolution “brilliant” and incorrectly stated that it would “eliminate all Planes, Cars, Cows, Oil, Gas & the Military.”
The president went on to mock Ocasio-Cortez last month during a Republican fundraiser as “a young bartender,” according to Politico.
I think it is very important for the Democrats to press forward with their Green New Deal. It would be great for the so-called “Carbon Footprint” to permanently eliminate all Planes, Cars, Cows, Oil, Gas & the Military - even if no other country would do the same. Brilliant!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 9, 2019
Ocasio-Cortez used her interaction with her newfound supporters on Friday to look past Republicans’ attempts to discredit her and her aggressive fight against climate change.
She also used the moment to highlight the progressive movement in light of former Vice President Joe Biden’s plans as a 2020 presidential candidate for a decidedly more conservative climate policy.
“All of this is to say don’t let any politician, no matter the party, lecture you about what is ‘possible’ or ‘electable,’” she tweeted.
“If you don’t understand this man’s sign - or don’t approach it with a desire to - then you do not understand this political moment,” Ocasio-Cortez continued.
“The same folks who said Trump was impossible in 2016 are the same ones lecturing on what’s ‘electable’ in 2020,” she said. “Don’t buy it. Vote your values.”
Representatives of Ocasio-Cortez did not immediately return HuffPost’s request for comment.
Read the rest of the congresswoman’s Twitter thread below:
I was pretty astonished.
We shook hands, he introduced himself, and told me he wanted to show his support.
I could barely get my question out - I wanted to honor his positivity, yet respectfully find a way to ask, “How?”— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 10, 2019
I somehow got it out: “With all respect sir, how do you... manage to support both of us at the same time?”
This is what he said:
“I’ve been saying for years that climate change is our most important crisis. You’re one of the only ones who‘s been willing to be decisive on it.”— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 10, 2019
Then he said, “I like you. I can tell that you are genuine and fighting for us. You’re real and you get it.”
I thanked him and his family from the bottom of my heart.— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 10, 2019
All of this is to say don’t let any politician, no matter the party, lecture you about what is “possible” or “electable.”
Don’t ever let a politician imply that working people are “less-than” or “uneducated” - aka that they are the ones in the way of solving the climate crisis.— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 10, 2019
The forces getting in the way of solving our climate crisis are politicians themselves + lobbyists. It is the willingness to bend to corporate power - the same ones that use coal miners’ plights for a tax break, yet refuse to pay for those same miners’ healthcare for black lung.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 10, 2019
If you don’t understand this man’s sign - or don’t approach it with a desire to - then you do not understand this political moment.
The same folks who said Trump was impossible in 2016 are the same ones lecturing on what’s “electable” in 2020.
Don’t buy it. Vote your values.— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 10, 2019
This article originally appeared on HuffPost.
