Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) has spent months positioning herself as the future of the Democrat Party, and, believe it or not, some people actually want her to be. I don't get it. Picture her on a debate stage with JD Vance. Or Marco Rubio. Honestly, I'm not convinced she'd hold her own against a 12-year-old. Personally, I think all the talk of her as a serious presidential contender is absurd — she's a walking punchline.
Yet the hype keeps building anyway, and if I could explain it, I would, but I can't. The betting markets certainly aren't laughing: she ranks near the top of the field for the 2028 Democrat Party nomination on both Kalshi and Polymarket. So, there are definitely people out there who think she's a genuine contender.
"AOC boasts three indispensable factors for a successful presidential race: national name recognition, the capacity to raise tens or hundreds of millions of dollars, and insatiable media interest," Mark Halperin wrote last month in The Free Press.
Add to the mix the updated nomination calendar, the rise of the democratic socialists, the likely lineup of Democratic candidates, and AOC’s own recent professional and personal moves, and voilà—Ocasio-Cortez might have the cleanest and clearest path to the nomination of any Democrat
Even Kamala Harris raised a billion dollars.
Just sayin'.
Of course, even AOC isn't exactly brushing off the chatter.
“I haven't ruled out the possibility. And I'm very humbled by the tremendous amount of support out there," she said on ABC News's This Week last month. It was the kind of coy, calculated answer designed to keep the speculation alive without committing to anything.
Well, good luck now after what happened on Friday.
ICYMI: Hillary Clinton Makes Sickening Accusation About October 7 Massacre
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Ocasio-Cortez were caught laughing and talking with each other during the reading of victims' names at the Ground Zero Memorial ceremony marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks. Footage of the moment spread quickly online.
Mamdani and AOC are spotted laughing with each other as people cry while the names of those who died are read during the 9/11 Memorial in New York City. pic.twitter.com/Ib5lm57fmV
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) September 11, 2026
Disgusting. Behavior like this should be disqualifying. Public outrage has only grown as more people see the clip.
Mamdani and AOC seem to be having the time of their lives while everyone else is paying respects to the deceased. https://t.co/nG3PhtTbK3
— Ron DeSantis (@RonDeSantis) September 11, 2026
How the hell do you laugh while the names of those murdered on 9/11 are being read aloud?
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) September 11, 2026
Why would you do so? https://t.co/gOec2hA8Lo
Imagine telling a New Yorker in 2001 that in 25 years, we will have imported so many people from the third-world that their mayor would be a Muslim communist who giggles like a little girl while the names of the victims are honored during the 9/11 Memorial ceremony. https://t.co/UDK8hW00OW
— Brandon Gill (@realBrandonGill) September 11, 2026
Turns out, the "bigots" demanding that Commie Mamdani be barred from the 9/11 memorial were 100% right. This sick America-hating freak needs to go. https://t.co/NCKFeq5vY0
— Spencer Pratt (@spencerpratt) September 11, 2026
New York City is stuck with Mamdani as mayor for three more years regardless of what anyone thinks of Friday's display. Whether it will hurt him politically when he’s up for reelection, who knows. But the incident raises a much bigger problem for Ocasio-Cortez: The internet is forever, and video of her laughing during a 9/11 memorial will be waiting to be used whenever AOC decides to run for president.
