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AOC asked voters why they backed her candidacy and Trump's reelection. Instagram users pointed to the economy and Gaza.

John L. Dorman
Updated
3 min read
  • Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez asked her followers why some people backed both her and Trump's reelection.

  • The responses were candid, and many people pointed to the economy and the conflict in Gaza.

  • Ocasio-Cortez strongly backed Harris and stumped for the vice president during the 2024 campaign.

Similar to Democrats across the country reflecting on Vice President Kamala Harris' election loss, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York has spent time thinking about the ramifications of President-elect Donald Trump's return to the White House.

Ocasio-Cortez, who was a strong backer of Harris and is one of the most progressive voices in the US House of Representatives, took to Instagram over the weekend to argue that "most people" weren't ready for Trump to be in office again. She highlighted Trump's pledge to initiate mass deportations and his tariff threats.

Then Ocasio-Cortez opened up the floor to Instagram users, asking for responses from people who backed her reelection in New York's 14th Congressional District and Trump's candidacy or who backed Trump and downballot Democrats in other states.

Ocasio-Cortez won her district, anchored in the Bronx and Queens, by a 38-point margin (69% to 31%), according to the latest AP results. It's a result in line with Harris' overall 68%-30% advantage over Trump across New York City. But in 2020, Biden received 76% of the vote in the city overall — a reflection of marked erosion in Democratic support this year.

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Many responses pointed to two key issues: the economy and the conflict in Gaza.

A slew of Instagram users said they registered their general frustration by not supporting Harris.

The responses to Ocasio-Cortez included:

  • "It's real simple… trump and you care for the working class."

  • "Trump is going to get us the money and let's men have a voice. You're brilliant and have amazing passion!"

  • "I feel like Trump and you are both real."

  • "I know ppl that did this and it was bc of Gaza."

  • "You are focused on the real issues people care about. Similar to Trump populism in some ways."

  • "Because of Gaza."

  • "I voted Trump and dems because he reached out to Muslims."

Harris crafted an economic message that she believed would differentiate her from President Joe Biden, who stepped aside as the presumptive Democratic nominee in July. But voters concerned about inflation sided with Trump, as he pledged to tackle the issue and take a new direction from that of the current administration.

The vice president also sought to reassure voters concerned about the Israel-Hamas war and the plight of Palestinians that she'd work to secure peace in the region as president. But Biden's handling of the conflict was extremely unpopular with the Democratic base — especially among young voters — and it led a critical bloc of Arab American voters in battleground Michigan to tune out Harris at the ballot box.

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Democrats struggled to rally core parts of their longtime base — including younger Black men and Latino voters — which benefited Trump. Trump made major inroads in several deep blue states as many voters expressed frustration about the direction of the country.

Harris argued that her presidency would have tackled some of the country's biggest economic and foreign-policy challenges, but in the end she wasn't able to recreate Biden's 2020 coalition.

Correction: November 12, 2024 — An earlier version of this story overstated what is known about the people who responded to Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Instagram. It's unclear whether the respondents voted.

Read the original article on Business Insider

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