A lot of people in this country “hate women” and “would never let it happen,” according to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, therefore it’s highly improbable that she’ll be elected president. In an extensive and gushing cover interview with GQ released on Wednesday, the socialist firebrand New York Democrat discussed the possibility of her mounting a future campaign for the White House.
While Ocasio-Cortez still believes that change is possible, she acknowledges that her time in Congress has “given me a front-row seat to how deeply and instinctively, as well as consciously, so many people in this country hate women.”
The 32-year-old, who was called the “political voice of a generation” and a “bona fide culture celebrity,” said, “And they despise women of color.”
Many individuals seek my advice on matters of the future. And frankly, I can’t even tell you if I’m going to be alive in September. This is a major burden for me. It’s not just the conservatives, either. The democratic socialist went on to say that “misogyny transcends political ideology: left, right, and center.”
“I admit to occasionally assuming that I live in a nation that would never allow it happen.” Ocasio-Cortez has claimed that it’s difficult for her to hear from young women that they hope she will become president one day.
She explained, “I never want to tell a small girl what she can’t accomplish, therefore it’s really tough for me to talk about.” To add insult to injury, I have no interest in discouraging young people by telling them their dreams are unrealistic. Not something I’ve ever done professionally. While on the other hand, the lawmaker said that being a woman and being opposed to Wall Street would hurt her chances of becoming president. She questioned whether or not Obama could have been elected without the substantial financial backing he received. “I’m not sure.”
Presenting GQ's October cover star: @AOC. The congresswoman opens up on the critical need for men to join the fight for abortion rights, whether she believes she'll ever be president, and much more https://t.co/uwWSexYB8h pic.twitter.com/UqOnSNwZ2y
— GQ Magazine (@GQMagazine) September 7, 2022
Ocasio-Cortez has argued that the political system, from the Senate to the Supreme Court, would work against her even if she were elected president. They still have many restrictions,” she said. It’s extremely tough, it’s really tough.
Another part of the discussion focused on the congresswoman’s experience with the “open hatred” she received from members of her own Democratic Party after she was elected in 2018. Ocasio-Cortez described the reaction as “open animosity, blatant antagonism to my presence, my life.”
“Ever since the first day I arrived, and perhaps even before that, I’ve seen a significant drop in aiming accuracy from my party. And the extent to which that depletion pervaded was, at times, overwhelming. I’m starting to feel like I can stand on my own two feet again. Is it true that I have the ability to change the federally elected Democratic Party? No.”
Ocasio-Cortez discussed her personal life, including her relationship with fiancé Riley Roberts and her decision to publicly disclose that she had been raped while she was in her early 20s, in the interview.
The lawmaker went public on Instagram weeks after the January 6, 2021 Capitol riots, explaining the anguish she relived during the uprising and revealing that she was a survivor of sexual assault.
Ocasio-Cortez stated in the interview, “I could not talk about that day without sharing it, because it was such a vital part of my experience.” She was referring to the day she and other congresspeople hid in offices while rioters broke in.
Since much of it was about resonance and terror of a thing that was not theoretical but a fear that I had experienced, “I felt that I could not really fully express what that feeling was without giving them the context of what I had gone through and what was being repeated.”
After the Supreme Court reversed Roe v. Wade in June, the lawmaker brought up the rape again when she spoke to anti-abortion protesters at Union Square in Manhattan.
Given how much her opponents on the left and right have scrutinized her remarks since she took office, she told GQ that she had carefully assessed her choice to open up further about being assaulted. She remarked, “The fight to be believed is a huge stress for many assault survivors.” Because of the emotional toll of having that event aired in court, there are parts of it that I may never reveal.
Ocasio-Cortez said she wondered how being an independent, accomplished woman would effect her relationship with her fiancé, which is notoriously secretive. She explained that people’s reactions change when someone finally lets their true personality shine through. An inner struggle arises within them that they weren’t expecting. This isn’t even a trick! The problem is that in doing so, they reveal vulnerabilities that the person had previously been unaware of.
However, Ocasio-Cortez claimed the reverse to be true after she was elected and thrown into the public glare. She met Riley while they were both 19 and attending Boston University.
She stated, “I believe it has been incredibly eye-opening for him to experience us dating while I was still working as a server and a bartender to now and seeing how the world responds [to me].
