Top 10 Times Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Was Badass

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez assumed office in January of 2019, and since then has become a fixture in the political world. But her very first speech on the house floor was a remarkable one, as she showed the sort of representative she was going to be for her constituents. The speech actually broke records on CSPAN’s Twitter, amassing 1.6 million views in just a few hours. In her statement, she commented on Trump’s border wall as well as the government shutdown, calling it a “subversion of our most basic governmental norms”.

Early in her term, AOC was not just making impassioned speeches in the House, but she was also making appearances at public rallies to share her views in front of massive crowds. She attended the 2019 Women’s March and spoke at the Women’s Unity Rally, where she talked about the Civil Rights movement and attempted to empower everyone in attendance to use their voice for good. Despite being new to her role at this point, she was already making iconic quotes, saying “Justice is about making sure that being polite is not the same thing as being quiet.”

In February of 2019, Michael Cohen, who had previously worked on President Trump’s legal team, appeared in front of the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee. Representatives were given the opportunity to question the lawyer on his experience involving the 2016 election and they did not hold back. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez did an expert job when her chance came to grill him, but arguably the best thing to come out of the hearing was this epic photo of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ayanna Pressley, and Rashida Tlaib where they appear to be judging Cohen with everything they’ve got.

One of the things we love the most about AOC is how relatable she is, and in this speech we were able to identify with her even more when she talked about the fact that she still has student loan debt. Along with Ilhan Omar, Pramila Jayapal and Bernie Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez was introducing the College for All Act, which would get rid of student debt and make higher education more accessible for all Americans. She commented on the fact that it took her doing something that was nearly impossible - being “the youngest woman in American history elected to Congress” - to have a chance of paying off her debts, which is obviously not something that can be expected of the average person.

After being introduced by AOC along with Senator Edward J. Markey, The Green New Deal sparked discussions on the future of climate change in the United States. However, some critics claimed that the plan, which involved minimizing the dependence on fossil fuels as well as greenhouse gas emissions, was an “elitist” one. With her trademark fiery passion, Ocasio-Cortez came back at the critics, citing examples from the Bronx and Flint, Michigan to prove that it was actually lower income populations who would actually be the greatest beneficiaries of this plan.

AOC doesn’t spend a lot of her time focusing on Donald Trump, but when she does comment on him (or defends herself after an attack) she does not hold back. Anderson Cooper asked if she thought Trump was a racist, and she quickly responded in the affirmative, backing up her claim with a wealth of examples. When the president tweeted calling her a “Wack Job”, she responded by calling him a criminal who “betrays our country.” When he tweeted a post that essentially told her to go back where she came from, she clapped back that the country she came from was the United States of America.

One of the things that AOC does best is managing to condense complex issues into more understandable packages so that her followers can understand them, even if they don’t have in depth knowledge of the issue. She did this expertly in a speech about corruption in campaign financing, playing a “game” where she asked questions at the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. She managed to make her point by backing everyone into a corner, basically proving that the system was broken and needed an overhaul as soon as possible.

Journalist Eddie Scarry tweeted a photo in 2018 showing AOC walking down a hallway dressed for work. He asserted that the clothes she was wearing made it clear that she wasn’t actually a “girl who struggles” as she purports to be. While Scarry eventually deleted the tweet, AOC kept her receipts and called out the journalist for his misogyny. She acknowledged that women’s appearances are critiqued seemingly no matter what they wear and that people would be taking pictures of her “backside” whether she came in looking put together or wearing a sack. She also had to defend her being well dressed for a magazine shoot, schooling her critics on the fact that she doesn’t actually keep the clothes she’s wearing.

When AOC took up her position as a congresswoman, one of her detractors posted a 2010 video from her college days where she’s dancing joyfully to “The Breakfast Club” soundtrack, recreating moves from the movie. The attack totally backfired however, because most viewers were charmed by the video rather than thinking that it took away from the congresswoman’s gravitas. And AOC herself was quick to make light of the situation, filming a new video of her dancing outside of her office, showing that even women in power can have a little fun every now and then.

Before we unveil our top pick, here are a few honorable mentions.

“Knock Down the House”
The Difference Between an Organizer & a Strategist & Her Reaction to Winning Her Campaign

Her Campaigning Shoes
The Wear & Tear on Her Shoes Shows Just How Hard She Worked

Her Rise to Success
Outlining Her Non-Traditional Ascent to Congress

Defending Socialism
“They Aren’t All My Ideas, But They ARE Good Ideas!”

Confirming This "Conspiracy"
Her Sarcasm Is Off the Charts

If you didn’t already think AOC was a badass before this speech, you must now. After reportedly being verbally attacked and cursed at by Representative Ted Yoho outside of their workplace, Ocasio-Cortez took to Congress to give a speech about the dehumanization of such name-calling. She embarked on an epic tear down of the Congressman while remaining calm and measured throughout, never stooping to his level. She talked about what truly makes a good man, and how she was not raised to put up with this kind of abuse from men in power. The video went viral for good reason: because every woman who watched it was surely able to relate and hopefully feel empowered by Ocasio-Cortez’s words.