New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez isn’t ready to endorse Joe Biden for president in the general election against President Trump.
“Yeah, we’ll see, we’re having conversations with Biden’s team, and trying to figure out what some of these policy conversations will look like,” Ocasio-Cortez told Politico Wednesday, citing his Puerto Rico, immigration, and healthcare proposals.
She referred in particular to the 2020 Democratic presumptive nominee’s climate change plan, which she said wasn’t “sufficient,” adding “it would be encouraging” if he picked a more liberal vice presidential partner for the ticket to “push him” on issues.
Ocasio-Cortez continued, “I think it’s, it’s for me personally very important to be in solidarity with my family, with the families that I represent in supporting Joe Biden in November.”
[Related: Elizabeth Warren endorses Joe Biden for president]
But the freshman House lawmaker insisted it was also crucial for Democrats to support the party’s standard-bearer because “at the end of the day,” either Biden or Trump will be in the White House come Jan. 20, 2021.
The liberal firebrand, once a Bernie Sanders supporter, told the New York Times this week she had yet to speak personally with Biden. She repeated Wednesday that she would campaign for the two-term vice president and Delaware’s 36-year senator; however, what her role looked like was up to his aides.
On Wednesday, Ocasio-Cortez, who is facing a primary challenge for her seat representing eastern parts of the Bronx and north-central Queens, was asked about rumors she was weighing a senatorial bid to undermine Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, also of New York.
She said she hadn’t considered it “in any serious way,” but she also didn’t rule it out in future election cycles.
