Ocasio-Cortez Mocked for Labeling Democratic Colleague as a GOP Congressman
In a now-deleted tweet on Thursday, Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York tried to call out “older male members” of the Republican Party for posing and taking pictures next to a cardboard cutout of her.
The lawmaker in the photo that Ocasio-Cortez criticized, however, was not a Republican. It was Ocasio-Cortez’s colleague, Democratic Rep. John Yarmuth from Kentucky, the chairman of the House Budget Committee.
“GOP: Let’s pose our older male members next to cardboard cutouts of young female legislators,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote, stylizing the tweet in the popular meme format.
The Republican Party of Kentucky tweeted the photo of Yarmuth standing next to Ocasio-Cortez’s cutout, accusing Democrats of their “radical, extremist will.”
“[L]ast month the socialists threatened the lone Kentucky Democrat in Congress if he didn’t bend to their radical extremist will,” the Kentucky Republican Party tweeted, along with the photo of Yarmuth. “Looks like AOC and socialism are calling the shorts for KYDems now!”
#ThrowbackThursday last month the socialists threatened the lone #Kentucky #Democrat in Congress if he didn’t bend to their radical, extremist will: https://t.co/MdS3un7IIY looks like @AOC and #socialism are calling the shots for @KyDems now! pic.twitter.com/VIe6JWZZQy
— Republican Party of Kentucky (@KYGOP) April 25, 2019
The party’s tweet comes just weeks after the Democratic Socialists of America “threatened to find a primary challenger for the Kentucky lawmaker after he didn’t immediately say he would support Medicare for All,” USA Today reported.
Even though the tweet from the Kentucky GOP labeled Yarmuth as a Democrat, Ocasio-Cortez was quick to call out the supposed “Republican.”
However, after realizing her mistake, people on Twitter were also quick to bash Ocasio-Cortez’s mistake.
That’s not a Republican, that’s @RepJohnYarmuth – one of your Democratic House colleagues.
— Frank Luntz (@FrankLuntz) April 25, 2019
The member in this picture is a Democrat…
— (((AG))) (@AG_Conservative) April 25, 2019
“Is it becuse she is smart”
The man in the photo posing with a cardboard cutout of her is one of her fellow Democrats. She can’t even recognize the people sitting next to her in House Caucus meetings.
— Donny Ferguson ? (@DonnyFerguson) April 25, 2019
Even worse for you, he’s the Chair of the House Budget Committee.
— Caleb Hull (@CalebJHull) April 25, 2019
AOC: The Democratic leader of the House Budget Committee is my colleague, but I don’t recognize him, so I’m going to try to dunk on the GOP.
AOC: I may not even know who like leads the House Budget Committee, but I should like totally be deciding the entire budget myself.
— Mike Daitch (@mikedaitch) April 25, 2019
Look, I understand not knowing everyone in Congress. But not knowing the chair of the budget committee, a seventh term congressman, is a bad look. Yarmuth deserves better than that!
— Andrew Valentine (@valentinolives) April 25, 2019
Yarmuth responded to the controversy later, noting that he had only posted the photo to welcome Ocasio-Cortez in Kentucky.
I was a Republican 35 years ago, but I think I have become wiser as an older, white, male Democrat. I simply wanted everyone to know I welcome @RepAOC in Kentucky, regardless of what old white male Republicans think. https://t.co/WOY7bIy6Yf
— Rep. John Yarmuth (@RepJohnYarmuth) April 25, 2019
At this time, it does not appear that Ocasio-Cortez or her representatives have made any comment on the Twitter mishap.
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