Once you get thrust into the spotlight, you'll find yourself experiencing as much pushback as you do praise. Such is the case for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who famously unseated a longtime congressman incumbent when she won the Democratic primary in New York's 14th Congressional District.
Since then, all eyes have been on the 28-year-old activist and some of those eyes belonged to haters. Ocasio-Cortez's platform was primarily based on her ability to relate to the working class citizens as she and her family belong to that community.
However, a recent New York Times report revealed Ocasio-Cortez moved to a suburb in Westchester County as a child, and conservatives couldn't wait to pounce on that and use it as ammo!
Identity politics duped the left. They got a Westchester girl that campaigned as the Bronx. lol She should be a great ally for School Choice. She did it.’It was clear to her that the zip code a child was born in determined much of their destiny’ #MAGA ???????? https://t.co/K9lEXE9oVA— Katrina Pierson (@KatrinaPierson) July 1, 2018
"Identity politics duped the left," tweeted Katrina Pierson, President Trump's Senior Advisor. "They got a Westchester girl that campaigned as the Bronx."
Others chimed in, as well.
This is the Yorktown Heights (very nice area) home @Ocasio2018 grew up in before going off to Ivy League Brown University.
A far cry from the Bronx hood upbringing she’s selling. pic.twitter.com/xyOtZzVJII— John Cardillo (@johncardillo) July 1, 2018
Wait. She grew up in one of the wealthiest counties? She forgot to put that in her campaign video. https://t.co/1WEfO5SNoA— Brandon Darby (@brandondarby) July 1, 2018
That Ivy League dig was the most glaring incorrect tip they ran with, however, because … it looks like they got their university acronyms mixed up or something.
Ocasio-Cortez took to the very same platform as her detractors did to clear up some ish, though. She specifically replied to America Talks Live host, John Cardillo's tweet, in fact.
Hey John,
1. I didn’t go to Brown or the Ivy League. I went to BU. Try Google.
2. It is nice. Growing up, it was a good town for working people. My mom scrubbed toilets so I could live here & I grew up seeing how the zip code one is born in determines much of their opportunity.— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) July 1, 2018
3. Your attempt to strip me of my family, my story, my home, and my identity is exemplary of how scared you are of the power of all four of those things.— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Ocasio2018) July 1, 2018
Cardillo had to take the "L," but doubled-down on his suspicions regarding her Bronx rep:
Earlier version of this story misidentified your alma mater as Brown @Ocasio2018.
I stand corrected.
That said, you’re not a “girl from the Bronx.”https://t.co/6H5VR9G3P0 https://t.co/NCIg4ildzF— John Cardillo (@johncardillo) July 1, 2018
Per the Daily Mail, Ocasio-Cortez never hid her suburban life, and in fact directly addressed the dichotomy between her "two worlds."
“My dad had a small family business in the Bronx, and the rest of my whole family stayed there," she said. "So I grew up between two worlds, shuttling between the Bronx and Yorktown most of my life.”
Ocasio-Cortez returned to the Bronx after graduating college and spent her time there community organizing and working in eduction.
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