Frustrated the Democratic National Convention has given time on its stage to Republicans, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., received one minute to speak Tuesday night, but it was to merely second the nomination for Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., as the Democratic presidential primary runner-up.
Sanders picked the rising Democratic-socialist as a second to union leader Bob King, otherwise AOC's influence on second night of the four-day event might have been nil.
Here were AOC's brief remarks to nominate Sanders for the delegates' official vote:
"Good evening and bienvenidos, and thank you to everyone here today endeavoring toward a better, more just future for our country and our world.
"Infidelity and gratitude to a mass people's movement working to establish 21st century social, economic, and human rights, including guaranteed healthcare, higher education, living wages, and labor rights for all people in the United States.
"A movement striving to recognize and repair the wounds of racial injustice, colonization, misogyny, and homophobia. And to propose and build reimagined systems of immigration and foreign policy that turn away from the violence and xenophobia of our past.
"A movement that realizes the unsustainable brutality of an economy that rewards explosive inequalities of wealth for the few, at the expense of long term stability for the many. And who organized a historic grassroots campaign to reclaim our democracy.
"In a time when millions of people in the United States are looking for deep systemic solutions to our crisis of mass evictions, unemployment, and lack of healthcare – and out of a love for all people, I hear by second the nomination of Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont for president of the United States of America."
CNN pundits surmised the Biden campaign and Democratic National Committee did not need the progressive wing of the party to pull in votes for Biden, figuring they were already there. Instead, the DNC has featured a range of voices from the never Trump movement from the Republican Party to appeal to independents, if not moderates in the GOP.
AOC was a vocal opponent of Kasich, a former Republican governor, speaking at the Democratic Party's signature election campaign event. Kasich spoke for almost 4 minutes.
AOC tweeted:
"It's great that Kasich has woken up & realized the importance of supporting a Biden-Harris ticket. I hope he gets through to GOP voters. Yet also, something tells me a Republican who fights against women's rights doesn't get to say who is or isn't representative of the Dem party."
She added in another message:
"We can build bridges & not lose sight of our values. It's important to remember that Kasich is an anti-choice extremist. He 100% will (and has) signed away our reproductive rights the moment he has the opportunity to do so. He is not a friend to workers."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.