Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez responds to Twitter trolls – and critical NYC billboard
By Caitlin O'Kane
/ CBS News
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez doesn't let critics get to her – whether they're hiding behind a computer screen or trolling her in public. Ocasio-Cortez hit back at both Twitter trolls and a critical billboard this week, and it appears she is letting their judgements bounce right off of her.
During an appearance on Showtime's "Desus and Mero" talkshow, Ocasio-Cortez was asked about the abuse she gets from Twitter trolls and Russian bots. "When that happens, do you kind of regret getting into politics?" host Desus Nice asked the congresswoman.
"No, no. I mean, it is heavy, but in a weird way, that stuff is validation that you're doing something real, right?" Ocasio-Cortez said. "Because if you're flying under the radar, just trying to get your check, not rock the boat, then what's the point of being in politics?"
Ocasio-Cortez also said the memes made about her are "so weak," and threw some more shade at Twitter trolls. "How do you have a computer that runs both Windows '95 and Twitter at the same time?" she wondered.
A day before she talk show, Ocasio-Cortez was trolled by a huge billboard in Times Square. "Thanks for nothing, AOC!" the billboard read, blaming the congresswoman for Amazon's decision to scrap plans for a New York headquarters.
The bottom of the billboard shows that it was created by the Texas-based group, Job Creators Network. Amazon's New York investment would have put 25,000 jobs in the Long Island City neighborhood of Queens, at a cost of nearly $3 billion in tax breaks. However, local activists called that a corporate giveaway, one made even less palatable by Amazon's anti-union stance.
Ocasio-Cortez cheered Amazon's decision to cancel the project. "I think it's incredible. I mean, it shows that everyday Americans still have the power to organize and fight for their communities and they can have more say in this country than the richest man in the world," she said, referring to Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos.
The congresswoman responded to the billboard on Twitter Wednesday. "Few things effectively communicate the power we've built in fighting dark money & anti-worker policies like billionaire-funded groups blowing tons of cash on wack billboards (this one is funded by the Mercers)," she wrote. "PS fact that it's in Times Sq tells you this isn't for/by NYers," she said, commenting on the fact that Times Square is typically a tourist destination, rather than a space frequented by New York residents.
Few things effectively communicate the power we’ve built in fighting dark money & anti-worker policies like billionaire-funded groups blowing tons of cash on wack billboards (this one is funded by the Mercers).
(PS fact that it’s in Times Sq tells you this isn’t for/by NYers.) https://t.co/B4QTPi1r2k
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 21, 2019
The New Yorker, who represents the city's 14th District in the Bronx, was the first guest on Desus and Mero's new Showtime talkshow. She told the hosts, who are fellow Bronx natives, that she "keeps it 100."
Now in GIF form #DESUSandMERO pic.twitter.com/tKb4qlH7XR
— Josh Billinson (@jbillinson) February 22, 2019
First published on February 22, 2019
© 2019 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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