Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) suggested that the Republican Party's brand of 'fear' is no longer working in its favor as it responds to a slate of progressive wins in the New York primary election.
'I think that people are feared out,' she told MSNBC's Jen Psaki on Friday.
'The one thing that we know is that the Republican Party's brand is fear,' Ocasio-Cortez said. 'And they have to constantly churn what they want people to be afraid of, to be afraid of socialists, to be afraid of immigrants, to be afraid of women.. they constantly want Americans in fear of somebody.'
Progressive Victories Shake New York Primaries
Progressive liberal Brad Lander and Democratic socialists Claire Valdez and Darializa Avila Chevalier, all backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D), saw victory in their New York congressional primaries this week, shaking up the party nationally. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), who had backed the incumbent Democratic opponents of Valdez and Lander, said Mamdani has 'work to do in terms of the conversations that he's going to have with members of Congress moving forward.'
GOP Meltdown Over Left-Wing Wins
Multiple GOP figures, including those loyal to President Donald Trump, have had complete meltdowns over the left-wing wins. The National Republican Congressional Committee posted on X: 'Special delivery for Hakeem Jeffries. Please 'enjoy' our Condolences for your incumbents who got crushed by Zohran Mamdani-backed, America-hating Socialists last night. The Democrat Party now: full socialist takeover, defund police, open borders & anti-?? extremism.'
Congressman Randy Fine (R-Fla.) wrote: 'What is happening in New York tonight should scare every American. The Democrat Party there no longer seeks to make America prosper. It seeks to destroy it.'
GOP gubernatorial candidate Bruce Blakeman said of Brad Lander, who is Jewish, that he 'would be a camp guard in the concentration camp if he could,' according to a post by Jason Beeferman.
Trump himself attacked the candidates, smearing them as communists who will 'kill your people.' He also shared anti-communist sentiments on his social media platform following the election, despite the fact that Democratic socialism and communism are separate ideologies. 'Mayor Mamdani pulled through 3 solid Communists, and has received loud and universal applause from the Fake News Media,' he wrote in a follow-up post.
AOC: Fear as a Distraction
Ocasio-Cortez maintained to Psaki that Republicans want Americans to be afraid. 'If you are not afraid of someone who is your neighbor, you're going to realize who's actually pickpocketing you, and that is the large corporations that are engaged in profiteering and jacking up your prices for no good reason,' she said. 'It's going to be in this administration that is engaged in record levels of swindling, thefts, tariffs, you know, your housing, and so this is kind of their, their new thing of the day,' she continued. 'Everyone's nerves are shot in constantly being taught and told of what country, person, community to be afraid of, and they just want a solution.'
