Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez warns that Trump doesn't know 'how to deal with a girl from the Bronx'
Democratic congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez thinks her Bronx roots will be working in her favor.
Ocasio-Cortez appeared on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Thursday to talk about her big win in Tuesday's primary in New York's 14th District, explaining what democratic socialism means to her.
The political newcomer is poised to become the youngest member of Congress after she beat incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley (D-N.Y.) by an overwhelming margin. She said she pulled it off by getting infrequent voters out to the polls, describing an instance when she met two 19-year-olds who had just voted for her. "I don't think polling is always right," she said.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
She issued a brief warning to President Trump, who tweeted a harsh farewell to Crowley. "Are you going to be nicer to the president?" Colbert asked. "Well, you know, the president is from Queens, with all due respect," she responded. "I don't think he knows how to deal with a girl from the Bronx."
Ocasio-Cortez also told Colbert about her democratic socialist agenda, explaining that she believes "no person in America should be too poor to live." Policies that guarantee health care, education, and housing for everybody can help all citizens to "lead a dignified life," she explained.
Watch the full interview below, including the story behind the moment she found out she won. Summer Meza
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Summer Meza has worked at The Week since 2018, serving as a staff writer, a news writer and currently the deputy editor. As a proud news generalist, she edits everything from political punditry and science news to personal finance advice and film reviews. Summer has previously written for Newsweek and the Seattle Post-Intelligencer, covering national politics, transportation and the cannabis industry.
-
Nigel Farage: was he a teenage racist?Talking Point Farage’s denials have been ‘slippery’, but should claims from Reform leader’s schooldays be on the news agenda?
-
Pushing for peace: is Trump appeasing Moscow?In Depth European leaders succeeded in bringing themselves in from the cold and softening Moscow’s terms, but Kyiv still faces an unenviable choice
-
Sudoku medium: November 29, 2025The daily medium sudoku puzzle from The Week
-
Judge halts Trump’s DC Guard deploymentSpeed Read The Trump administration has ‘infringed upon the District’s right to govern itself,’ the judge ruled
-
Trump accuses Democrats of sedition meriting ‘death’Speed Read The president called for Democratic lawmakers to be arrested for urging the military to refuse illegal orders
-
Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read The Texas congressional map ordered by Trump is likely an illegal racial gerrymander, the court ruled
-
Trump defends Saudi prince, shrugs off Khashoggi murderSpeed Read The president rebuked an ABC News reporter for asking Mohammed bin Salman about the death of a Washington Post journalist at the Saudi Consulate in 2018
-
Congress passes bill to force release of Epstein filesSpeed Read The Justice Department will release all files from its Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation
-
Trump says he will sell F-35 jets to Saudi ArabiaSpeed Read The president plans to make several deals with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week
-
Judge blasts ‘profound’ errors in Comey caseSpeed Read ‘Government misconduct’ may necessitate dismissing the charges against the former FBI director altogether
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
