Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said Monday that her party should rally around the presidential nominee “no matter who it is.”
Ocasio-Cortez made the comments to TIME as Democrats headed to the Iowa Caucus Tuesday. The results were stalled due to a malfunctioning phone app.
Democratic presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders addresses supporters at a rally at the Drake University Olmsted Center in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S., Feb. 3, 2020. REUTERS/Mike Segar
The congresswoman has endorsed Independent Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders for president.
A growing number of Democratic strategists are reportedly growing nervous that Democratic socialist Sanders is too radical to capture mainstream America. (RELATED: Billionaire Democratic Donor Calls Bernie ‘A Communist’ And ‘A Disaster Zone’)
Ocasio-Cortez said attempts to undermine Sanders are “overblown,” and said she would rather promote Democratic unity. “Bernie has said this, I absolutely believe this: whoever gets the nomination, we have to rally behind them, no matter who it is,” she told TIME. “And I would hope that everybody would do so if Bernie is the nominee as well.”
She also predicted it would be “dangerous” for the Democratic Party to overrule popular support for Sanders with backroom tactics.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for people to try to use superdelegates or other kind of subversive policies to deny anybody the nomination because it’s incredibly divisive to do so, and very demoralizing, which is a direct threat in November,” she told the magazine, noting, “The moment you start playing games trying to deny whoever is the nominee, we really start to get into dangerous territory in terms of defeating Trump.” (RELATED: Ocasio-Cortez, Omar And Tlaib Endorse Bernie Sanders For President)
Democratic presidential candidate, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) holds hands with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) during his speech at a campaign rally in Queensbridge Park on October 19, 2019 in the Queens borough of New York City. (Photo by Kena Betancur/Getty Images)
Ocasio-Cortez suggested Sanders can transcend ideological differences with his fellow Democrats by the sheer weight of his personality and character.
“The way that a lot of people feel is, I may not agree with all of the Senator’s policies, but I know that he’s not bs-ing me,” she said. “And that quality is very unique in American politics, where you will have a lot of candidates who are shifting all the time what their stances are based on what they think is popular. And Bernie does not do that.”