Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gave an interview on the Latino USA podcast about how she’s been doing since the January 6th Capitol riots. PEOPLE magazine called it an “active insurrection’ attempt by former President Donald Trump.” AOC said, “you have this transition period of escalating violence, which really culminated on the 6th, for which was an extraordinarily traumatizing event that’s not really being discussed.”
The New York Congresswoman also said another representative helped her understand the trauma she had endured. “After the 6th, I took some time and it was really [Rep.] Ayanna Pressley when I explained to her what happened to me, like the day of, because I ran to her office.”
“And she was like, ‘you need to recognize trauma. And this is something that you went through, but we’re all going through. And it’s really important to pause after that, because that’s how you process it.” AOC also compared the aftermath of January 6 to the death of her father when she was in college.
She had “learned this the hard way” about trauma. “That happened at a young age, and I locked it away…I had to live with that for years, and so, I learned my lesson then. And now, I feel like I’ve had to take a beat.”
She is “doing therapy but also I’ve just slowed down…I think the Trump administration had a lot of us, especially Latino communities, in a very reactive mode.” Ocasio-Cortez said she feared for her life during the riots; “I did not know if I was going to make it to the end of that day alive” she explained in an Instagram live later that week.
She also accused Senator Ted Cruz of encouraging the riots and wrote on Twitter she was “Happy to work w/almost any other GOP that aren’t trying to get me killed.”
AOC Receives Backlash For Selling $58 "Tax The Rich" Sweatshirt
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is selling a $58 Sweatshirt with the slogan “Tax the Rich” to which she received some harsh criticism online.
AOC made the black sweatshirts available for pre-order on Wednesday night saying they are “made in the US with dignified, union jobs paying living wages.”
Only the rich can afford this idiotic sweatshirt pic.twitter.com/PpVaBl8J6V
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) December 3, 2020
“Selling a $58 sweatshirt to own the capitalists is the most AOC thing ever,” Eddie Zipperer, who teaches political science at Georgia Military College, wrote on Twitter.
“Hey AOC I can’t afford this sweatshirt [right now], you got a coupon code for the non-rich?” the Daily Caller News Foundation’s Mary Margaret Olohan wrote on Twitter.
Hey @AOC I can't afford this sweatshirt rn, you got a coupon code for the non-rich? https://t.co/7Aoawf4U4f
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) December 3, 2020
Ocasio-Cortez was quick to hit back against the critics.
“Republicans are freaking out [because] we don’t use slave-wage labor for merch that funds grassroots organizing. But what’s the difference between Trump’s merch and ours? Ours is made in the US. ([and] for GOP who joke that we [should] give [shirts] for free, we actually do – just volunteer),” she wrote on Twitter on Thursday.
Republicans are freaking out bc we don’t use slave-wage labor for merch that funds grassroots organizing.
But what’s the difference between Trump’s merch and ours?
Ours is made in the US. ????????
(& for GOP who joke that we shld give ???? for free, we actually do – just volunteer ????) https://t.co/35DnbFYQyC
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) December 3, 2020
It’s always interesting to watch someone who supposedly went to school for economics completely misunderstand the basic workings of capitalism.
Did AOC Really Have A Close Encounter at the Capitol on Jan 6th?
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is facing harsh criticism over a video that she posted about the events that took place on Jan 6th, with many pointing out that she was not even in the Capitol building when the riot occurred.
The congresswoman posted a video in which she describes a Capitol Police officer bursting into her office and said his presence “didn’t feel right”. She went on to say that the officer “was looking at me with a tremendous amount of anger and hostility”.
.@AOC describes a Capitol Police officer bursting into her office, says his presence “didn’t feel right” and that he was looking at her “in all of this anger and hostility.” Her staffer reportedly wondered if he would have to fight the officer. pic.twitter.com/LCj2JmmFP6
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) February 2, 2021
The controversy erupted after the New York congresswoman posted a video in which she described a confrontation with Capitol Police at her office, which is located on the larger Capitol complex. But it is not in the Capitol itself — which includes the dome, the House, and the Senate — and was where many rioters stormed in and were seen breaking windows.
Her office is located in the Cannon building, which is accessible through underground tunnels connected to the Capitol as well as via a short stroll down a walkway and across the street. It was also one of the buildings where staff was told to evacuate after suspicious packages were found in the area. Law enforcement found pipe bombs and Molotov cocktails in the vicinity.
In response to the incident, the congresswoman said: “I did not know if I was going to make it to the end of that day alive.” She also accused Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, of almost having her “murdered,” touching on accusations that Cruz and others incited the attack through their rhetoric about the election.
Some critics have compared her story to that of Jussie Smollett who made accusations of being attacked by Trump supporters before his whole story fell apart.
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