Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez deletes tweet after mistaking a Democrat for a Republican

Rebecca Morin
Updated

Freshman Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez deleted a tweet Thursday after she attempted to call out "older male" Republicans for posing next to a cardboard cutout of her.

The lawmaker wasn't a Republican, though. He was a fellow Democrat.

The Republican Party of Kentucky on Thursday tweeted a photo of Rep. John Yarmuth, a Democrat from the Bluegrass State who chairs the House Budget Committee and has served in Congress since 2007.

In a popular meme format, the New York congresswoman retweeted the Kentucky GOP post, adding: "Nobody: [Silence] GOP: Let’s pose our older male members next to cardboard cutouts of young female legislators."

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The tweet from the Kentucky GOP claimed that it looks like Ocasio-Cortez is "calling the shots for [Kentucky Democrats] now," including the photo of Yarmuth.

Yarmuth responded later on Twitter: "I was a Republican 35 years ago, but I think I have become wiser as an older, white, male Democrat. I simply wanted everyone to know I welcome @RepAOC in Kentucky, regardless of what old white male Republicans think," Yarmuth tweeted.

Some Republican commentators called out Ocasio-Cortez's blunder.

The photo of Yarmuth embracing Ocasio-Cortez's cardboard cutout comes weeks after the Louisville chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America last month threatened to find a primary challenger for the Kentucky lawmaker after he didn't immediately say he would support Medicare for All.

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"We think @RepJohnYarmuth should ask Joe Crowley what happens to representatives that break promises and oppose Medicare for All," the group tweeted. "Maybe @AOC can tell you where to find him nowadays."

Ocasio-Cortez upset 10-term incumbent Democratic Rep. Joe Crowley in last year's New York primary. The win led her to become the youngest woman ever elected to Congress. She's 29.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez deletes tweet after mistaking a Democrat for a Republican