Independent Senator Bernie Sanders floated Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as a potential presidential candidate in the 2028 elections, saying that even though it’s “her decision to make,” she is a “very, very good politician.”
Speaking to Axios, Sanders said that he has been “out on the streets with her” and noticed how she responds when people come up to her. “It’s so incredibly genuine and open.”
Ocasio-Cortez is seemingly positioning herself to run for higher office, whether it is challenging Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for his seat or to make a run for president.
She has traveled the country along with Sanders, most recently on his “Fighting Oligarchy” tour, where they both drew large crowds, including in ruby-red states.
In another passage of the interview, Sanders said there are “other people” who believe AOC would make a good presidential candidate as the most progressive wing of the Democratic Party looks for a successor of Sanders, who failed to win the candidacy in 2016 and 2020.
AOC currently has a 12% chance of clinching the nomination, according to betting site Polymarket. She stands in second place behind Gavin Newsom’s 35% and ahead of Pete Buttigieg’s 6%.
AOC has had a sporadic involvement in the public conversation over the past months. Earlier this month she urged supporters to “laugh” at what she described as the “insecure masculinity” behind the MAGA movement — singling out White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller as an example.
Concretely, the New York Democrat argued that mockery could be an effective tool to counter authoritarian tendencies she pins on the Trump adminitration. “One of the best ways that you can dismantle a movement of insecure men is by making fun of them,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “Laugh at them!”
Originally published on Latin Times
