Rep. Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) asserted that her appearances on left-wing commentator Hasan Piker’s livestreams are part of an effort to engage with young voters and “build a winning coalition.”
In an appearance on Sunday’s episode of ABC’s “This Week,” Ocasio-Cortez was asked by ABC News’ Jonathan Karl about her appearances on Piker’s livestreams, citing the popular socialist internet personality as a “person who’s been made an issue” among moderate Democrats, particularly for comments that the U.S. “deserved 9/11” (a statement that Piker has since retracted and apologized for). Karl asked Ocasio-Cortez if Piker is “someone that should have a role in the progressive movement going forward.”
“Much hay was made about the fact that we lost young men in the last election, and many of the same consultants that are wringing their hands today were the same ones talking about how we need to go on Joe Rogan and we need to be not so willing to engage in cancel culture,” “When we look at our elections that have happened, we have lost young people,” Ocasio-Cortez answered. “The fact of the matter is that Democrats can go on Joe Rogan. Democrats can go on Fox News. Democrats have a responsibility to build a winning coalition.”
Ocasio-Cortez’s comments come as the Democratic Party has seen a number of candidates challenging incumbents in primary elections, such as the Piker-endorsed Abdul El-Sayed, who won the Democratic nominee for Michigan’s Senate election on Wednesday.
“Young people are engaging in mediums and conversations that we have a responsibility to attend to and be responsive to,” Ocasio-Cortez continued. “Oftentimes when people are doing that Monday morning quarterbacking (of) what demographics voted where, the big one that’s being ignored is the generational tidal wave. Millennials are not punk kids anymore. We’re grown adults with mortgages and kids. That generation is starting to be decisive at the polls. And there is anger at being ignored, sidelined (and) having our economic futures mortgaged by the generations that came before us on everything, from the economy to climate.”
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