House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., tore into Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., in a Monday interview, saying that having a team of House Democrats able to pass legislation is more important than the size of any member’s social media following.
“While there are people who have a large number of Twitter followers, what’s important is that we have large numbers of votes on the floor of the House,” Pelosi said in a USA Today interview, taking aim at the freshman lawmaker’s social media habits.
Ocasio-Cortez became the face of progressives in the House after she unseated establishment Rep. Joe Crowley, N.Y., in the Democratic primary last summer in a Bronx-and-Queens district.
Her social media savviness has made her popular with a younger and more liberal Twitter audience but has caused tension with Pelosi in part over her proposals for far-left proposals like the “Green New Deal,” which Pelosi initially dismissed as “the green dream.”
Ocasio-Cortez helped lead a social media session with Democratic lawmakers back in January. Her almost-4 million Twitter followers makes her one of the most popular politicians on the platform.
