Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has been campaigning for 2020 Democrat, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, but she thinks the party needs to unite behind its eventual presidential nominee even if it’s not him.
“Bernie has said this, I absolutely believe this: whoever gets the nomination, we have to rally behind them, no matter who it is,” the New York Democrat told Time on Sunday. “And I would hope that everybody would do so if Bernie is the nominee as well.”
The 30-year-old congresswoman called a report that the Democratic National Committee might consider changing the superdelegate rules again to stop Sanders a “threat” to Democrats’ chances of winning in November.
“I don’t think it’s a good idea for people to try to use superdelegate or other kind of subversive policies to deny anybody the nomination,” she said. “It’s incredibly divisive to do so, and very demoralizing, which is a direct threat in November. 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.”
Ocasio-Cortez, who endorsed Sanders in October, explained why she threw her support behind the independent Vermont senator.
“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.”
The freshman congresswoman’s call for unity comes weeks after she tore into former Vice President Joe Biden, who is leading the Democratic primary. Ocasio-Cortez, in an interview last month, said the Democratic Party “can be too big of a tent.”
“In any other country, Joe Biden and I would not be in the same party, but in America, we are,” she said.
Two weeks ago, she attacked the former vice president for saying Sanders was lying by criticizing his record.
“I don’t understand why some folks run as if the internet doesn’t exist,” the congresswoman said on Twitter. “Joe Biden helped sell the invasion of Iraq and spent years working to cut social security, Medicare, and Medicaid. He’s open to a Republican running mate. Spin it however you want, but those are the facts.”
Ocasio-Cortez said in her latest interview that she thinks Sanders has it in him to win the nomination but that “no win is ever a sure thing, ever.” He is currently polling less than 4% behind Biden nationwide but is leading in Iowa and New Hampshire, according to RealClearPolitics.
