Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is under fire after asserting that Donald Trump decided to “make sure that kids are dying” as the government shutdown persists.
The New York congresswoman was accused of promoting ‘frenzied hysteria’ after her latest comments.
One X user wrote: ‘AOC is using fear to fundraise – when you frame stalled funding as “kids dying,” the real victims are truth and accountability.’
One critic remarked, “She is the least productive member of Congress, despite having stiff competition from her brain-dead left-wing Democrats.”
Ocasio-Cortez, a proponent of Democratic Socialism, stated that the government shutdown revolves around “people’s ability to insure their children.”
She mentioned on MSNBC: “I heard some senators and Republican Congress members saying, ‘Oh, if we have this shutdown, it’s because of AOC.’
“Well, if that’s true, my office is open and you’re welcome to come in and talk directly, because what I’m not going to stand for is leaving four million Americans without insurance just because Donald Trump decided to let children die due to lack of access to healthcare.”
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is facing criticism after her latest remarks about Donald Trump
Ocasio-Cortez said the US president ‘one day’ decided to ‘just make sure that kids are dying’
A White House spokesperson responded to her latest comments about Trump.
Kush Desai informed the New York Post: “If AOC truly cared about America’s children, she would cease the baseless dramatics and urge her fellow Democrats to reopen the government to restore vital support for millions of children dependent on WIC and other federal aid programs.”
Ocasio-Cortez’s comments came as she looks to keep growing her campaign dollars.
The 35-year-old lawmaker raised more money than any other member of the House of Representatives this year.
Ocasio-Cortez raked in about $15.4million, according to Federal Election Commission filings.
Speculation has swirled that Ocasio-Cortez could be targeting a more senior position in Democratic leadership soon.
She has been touted as a possible contender to run against Chuck Schumer for his New York Senate seat.
Ocasio-Cortez raised more money than any other member of the House of Representatives this year
Some are predicting Ocasio-Cortez to run for president in 2028, which would see her succeed Trump
Others are predicting the Democratic Socialist to aim higher and run for US president in 2028.
A new survey from the Pew Research Center of nearly 3,500 U.S. adults found that 50 percent of respondents held an unfavorable view of Schumer, and just 21 percent expressed a favorable view.
Meanwhile, Ocasio-Cortez is one of her party’s most popular figures.
In her latest video alongside Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, Ocasio-Cortez claimed that ‘a lot of Americans are going to be in danger’ due to the ongoing government shutdown.
The US government has been closed since October 1 after lawmakers did not strike a deal to extend funding before the deadline.
Republicans said that Democrats want to restore ‘taxpayer-funded free health care for illegal aliens’.
US vice president JD Vance wrote on X: ‘Democrats shut down the government to give health care money to illegal aliens. It’s really that simple.’
Vance also posted an image showing a ‘new health insurance option for undocumented immigrants over 65’ in New York state.
That image referred to a state government program, which Rhode Island senator Sheldon Whitehouse accused Vance of ‘conflating.’
The vice president added: ‘When an illegal accesses health care, it drives up the cost for everyone.
‘So New Yorkers are paying a higher price for medical services, and the federal government is subsidizing those higher prices.’
Ocasio-Cortez’s remarks came amid the ongoing government shutdown
The government has been closed since October 1
House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries denied Vance’s claims: ‘Federal law prohibits the use of taxpayer dollars to provide medical coverage to undocumented individuals.
‘That’s the law. And there is nothing in anything that we have proposed that is trying to change that law.’
Democrats said they want to extend Affordable Care Act premium tax credits and will not pass a reconciliation bill unless Republicans agree to their healthcare demands.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Thursday that ‘thousands’ of workers on the federal payroll would be fired during the funding gap.
Trump said he was meeting with Office of Management and Budget director Russ Vought to determine which ‘Democrat Agencies’ would face ‘temporary or permanent’ cuts.
The US president posted on Truth Social: ‘I can’t believe the Radical Left Democrats gave me this unprecedented opportunity.
‘They are not stupid people, so maybe this is their way of wanting to, quietly and quickly, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!’
Since 1981, there have been 10 government shutdowns lasting three days or less, and four that have lasted 15 days or more.
The most recent shutdown before this was under Trump and started on December 21, 2018, and lasted 35 days.
