She’s on the left, he’s on the right – and now represent rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, DN.Y., and former Ohio Gov. John Kasich trade corn in the middle of the all-virtual Democratic National Convention.
The two politicians – who both received slots speaking at the convention – clashed online in advance on their comments, exchanging criticism about the future of the Democratic Party. The spat exposes a rift when the Democratic Party pushes for a unity message by both liberals within its party and several Republicans not being happy with President Donald Trump.
In an interview with BuzzFeed News published Monday afternoon, Kasich, who was among that handful of Republicans to speak Monday night at the Democrats ‘conference, focused on Ocasio-Cortez, a star of the progressive movement who’ t Tuesday night will speak at the convention.
“People on the extreme, whether left or right, are getting a lot of publicity defining their party,” Kasich told BuzzFeed News. “You know, I always listen to people who make these statements, and just because AOC gets a lot of publicity, it does not mean that it represents the Democratic Party.”
Ocasio-Cortez is not wasting time in responding, tweeting criticism that Kasich “does not get to say who is or is not representative” of the Democratic Party.
“It’s great that Kasich is awake and realized the importance of supporting a Biden-Harris ticket. I hope he passes on to GOP voters,” she tweeted.
“Yet it also tells me that one Republican who fights for women’s rights is not allowed to say who is or is not a representative of the Dem Party,” she added.
In his speech Monday night, Kasich appeared to be calling on unrestricted Republicans to possibly expand the coalition that could send Biden to the White House and make Trump a one-time president.
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“I’m a lifelong Republican, but that addition holds second place to my responsibility for my country,” he said. “That’s why I chose to appear at this congress. In normal times, such a thing would probably never happen, but these are not normal times.”
He did not name the president, but said the administration has led the country down a path of ‘division, dysfunction, irresponsibility and growing vitriol’, which is why he supports Biden, whom he “a good man, a man of faith, an association. “
Ocasio-Cortez will speak to the convention on Tuesday. Some voters have expressed frustration that they only got 60 seconds for their address, less time than Kasich was given.
