Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez accused right-wing pundits Sunday of “classism” for using her waitressing roots in their criticism of her comments on Ivanka Trump at the G-20 summit.
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez dog-piled on a viral video showing the White House adviser and first daughter attempting to join a conversation with world leaders, saying Saturday President Trump should have had a “qualified diplomat” present at the summit, not someone who’s experience was “being someone’s daughter.”
Conservative media jumped on the comments, with British journalist Piers Morgan tweeting, “Could be worse … Ivanka could have been a bar-tender 18 months ago” and pundit Paris Dennard tweeting, “Remind us how being a bartender qualified you to be a member of Congress creating laws, voting on bills that impact Americans & the world.”
The New York Democrat said she’s “proud of” her restaurant experience while highlighting having interned for the late Sen. Ted Kennedy and worked for international organizations before she ran for office.
“Working people that GOP dismiss as ’just a waitress/cook/etc’ contain multitudes, & are just as capable & intelligent as anyone. Classism - judging someone’s character by their income - is disappointing to see from them,” she tweeted.
“What is so appalling to GOP about having an honest job? Some of the most nuanced, intelligent, & grounded people I’ve ever met weren’t at BU, MIT or Harvard events when I was a student. They were the plumbers & waitresses I hung out with at happy hour, who had ferocious intellectual curiosity *and* a lived context of the real world,” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez said.
“In other words, Republicans who criticize my being a waitress as evidence of lacking skill can take their classism to the trash. You are insulting the capacities and potential of virtually every working person in America (&the [world emoji]) for having experience that’s earned, not bought,” she said.
Mr. Morgan clarified he wasn’t criticizing Ms. Ocasio-Cortez’s job, but rather her “irritating self-righteousness” for asking how she’s “more qualified than @IvankaTrump to hold political office.”
Outgoing White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders also criticized the New York Democrat, saying she has lost jobs for her district, likely referencing her opposition to a now-defunct plan for an Amazon headquarters in Queens.
• Bailey Vogt can be reached at bvogt@washingtontimes.com.
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