Marco Rubio may have been the headline act at the Munich security conference, but five days on there is only one US attendee Republicans and Democrats are still talking about: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
The 36-year-old New York congresswoman headed to the conference as one of several high-profile Democrats — including Gavin Newsom and Gretchen Whitmer, the respective governors of California and Michigan — keen to say their bit on foreign affairs.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez used the Munich summit to highlight economic inequality and far-right populism
LIESA JOHANNSSEN/REUTERS
The left-wing progressive, widely referred to as AOC, has long been seen as a potential Democrat hopeful for 2028. It follows that her decision to head to Germany and take a break from her usual domestic focus to talk on geopolitics has been seen as her beginning to set out her stall before a tilt at the Democratic nomination.
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Only the visit quickly drew controversy when she appeared on a panel and was asked: “Would and should the US actually commit US troops to defend Taiwan if China were to move?” In her reply, she struggled to find the words: “Um, you know, I think that I, uh, this is such a, you know, I think that this is a, this is of course, a very longstanding, um, policy of the United States and I think what we are hoping for is that we want to make sure that we never get to that point, and we want to make sure that we are moving in all of our economic research and our global positions to avoid any such confrontation and for that question to even arise.”
Her reply led to unease among some Democrats and was quickly zoned in on by Republicans. Several Maga commentators claimed her appearance was an embarrassment for America and proof that the Democrats could not be trusted with foreign policy.
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In an appearance on Fox News, JD Vance, the vice-president, was quick to stick the boot in, describing the appearance as “embarrassing”.
“If I had given that answer I would say, ‘You know what, maybe I go read a book about China and Taiwan before I go out on the world stage again’ — I hope that Congresswoman Cortez has the same humility, but I’m sceptical,” he said.
JD Vance called AOC’s Taiwan remarks “embarrassing” and questioned her readiness for high office
JAMIE MCCARTHY/GETTY IMAGES
On CNN, Democrats too have bickered over whether she “had plenty of good answers” that were ignored over a Taiwan blip, or if this was her being found out and coming up short.
Ocasio-Cortez addressed the furore, telling The New York Times that she was frustrated that her comments had become all about a potential bid in 2028: “This reporter came up to me and was like, ‘Is Munich the new New Hampshire?’ And I cannot say enough how out of touch and missing the point, genuinely, that is.”
Instead, she argued her appearance was about sounding the alarm: “A lot of those folks in nicely pressed suits in that room will not be there much longer if we do not do something about the runaway inequality that is fuelling far-right populist movements.”
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Her supporters say her message has been deliberately misrepresented by the right-wing press, comparing her position to FDR’s, with her argument that working-class economic populism is necessary for the defence of democracy as well as the success of the left. Some figures in the Maga movement, such as Steve Bannon, Trump’s former White House adviser, have long argued that the biggest risk to them would be a populist-left message rather than an establishment candidate. Other more old-school Republicans believe AOC would be a dream opponent in 2028 who would alienate middle voters.
As for foreign policy, some argue her position was not as foolish as has been made out. “The substance of what she said was obviously quite reasonable,” says Stephen Wertheim, senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “In fact, it compares favourably to President Biden’s repeated statements that the United States would definitely defend Taiwan if attacked, which were destabilising comments and contradicted the US policy of strategic ambiguity.”
Republicans, too, admit that they are not immune to such criticisms themselves. “In some ways, she’s like the Democratic Trump — she says a lot of things that are not very eloquent or don’t make sense. But so does our president,” said one Capitol Hill staffer.
Both Trump and AOC have one thing in common: they cut through. There is a consensus forming that any Democrat with a chance for 2028 needs to command people’s attention; for good or bad, Ocasio-Cortez is doing just that.