New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s appearance at the Munich Global Security Conference has spawned questions about her political ambitions.
“So when you run for president, are you going to impose a wealth tax or a billionaires tax?” a moderator asked her on a panel about populism.
“I don’t think that anyone, and that we don’t have to wait for anyone president to impose a wealth tax. I think it needs to be done expeditiously,” Ocasio-Cortez replied.
Ryan Adams, a progressive political consultant, said he views Munich as a global breakout moment for the congresswoman.
“She nailed it,” he told NY1.
The conference is regarding as viewed as a platform for world leaders, both present and future.
This weekend, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is slated to speak at the conference.
Last year, Vice President JD Vance used it as a platform to attack the country’s European allies.
“What I worry about is the threat from within. The retreat of Europe from some of its most fundamental values — values shared with the United States of America,” Vance said.
Ocasio-Cortez offered a competing vision, deriding the Trump administration’s recent global policy decisions.
“We are seeing our presidential administration tear apart the trans-Atlantic partnership, rip up every democratic norm. And so I think one of the reasons why is not just myself, but many of our colleagues here, in fact, Democrats, many Democrats that are here as well, is because we want to tell a larger story that what is happening is indeed very grave,” she added. “But that does not mean that the majority of Americans are ready to walk away from a rules-based order and that we’re ready to walk away from democracy.”
“I think people are asking her where she stands on these issues because they’re looking for the continuity that they hope will return with a new president,” Adams told NY1.
Ocasio-Cortez also made links between inequality and the rise of authoritarianism.
“We are moving in this direction of increased recognition that we have to have a working class centered politics if we are going to succeed, and also if we are going to stave off the scourges of authoritarianism, which also provides political siren calls to allure people into finding scapegoats to blame for rising economic inequality both domestically and globally,” she said.
Additionally, the democratic socialist called for a renewed commitment to global aid and alliances, saying they can “be a hard stop against authoritarian consolidation of power, particularly in the installation of regional puppet governments.”