During an interview on CNN’s State of the Union on Sunday, progressive New York congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez refused to say whether she would support President Joe Biden if he chooses to run again in 2024.
AOC, arguably the most influential progressive in her party, said that she would “cross that bridge when we get to it” when asked if she would endorse a Biden candidacy.
“If the president has a vision and that’s something we’re all willing to entertain and examine when the time comes, we should endorse when we get to it. We’ll take a look at it,” Ocasio-Cortez said, stressing that her party’s focus should be on winning the November midterm elections.
The comments sparked a flurry of rumors online that AOC herself is considering a presidential run.
AOC running for President in 2024 confirmed.
— Scott (@greedisgood70) June 12, 2022
Some even speculated in recent weeks that the congresswoman’s recent engagement to long-time boyfriend Riley Roberts could support the idea that she is considering a 2024 run herself.
What Do Her Comments Really Mean?
The fact that AOC won’t commit to endorsing President Biden in 2024 doesn’t necessarily mean she intends to run for office in 2024.
In fact, it seems unlikely – not least because she explicitly ruled it out last year.
My take is that AOC is definitely running for President in 2024. And she will continue to blast Biden and other Democrats in anticipation. Don’t see her staying in Congress past then though as she will use her fame to make millions.
— Take back the USA (@WillieSam15) June 4, 2022
“I struggle with it because I don’t want little girls watching or anything like that to like lower their sights or anything in that direction. But for me, I feel that if that was in the scope of my ambition it would chip away at my courage today,” AOC told Dana Bash on CNN in August 2021.
The New York congresswoman added that her “courage at the present moment is more important” than running herself and even left the door open to challenging Senator Chuck Schumer for his New York Senate seat this year. The latter of which has not since panned out.
AOC will be 35 in October 2024.
I wish she would at least think about running. Given that she’s getting married, she probably is.
— Shelton Bumgarner (@sheltgarner) June 8, 2022
Technically, AOC would be eligible to run for president if she wants to, as she will be 35 years old by November 2024. However, the congresswoman’s support for Biden in 2020 wasn’t exactly unwavering, and with his poor performance in the polls recently, she and the rest of the progressive wing of her party could easily find themselves backing a primary challenger next time around.
That challenger could even be Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who, despite his advanced age, has “not ruled out another run for president” next time around.
Should AOC choose to run herself, however, she would face an uphill battle against “moderates” within her party who recognize that her brand of American socialism could be disastrous in a race against former President Donald Trump. Not only that, but she could find herself up against former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, who former Bill Clinton advisor Dick Morris says could be running again.
“Hillary has set up a brilliant, brilliant strategy that nobody else is able to do,” Morris told WABC radio earlier this year, noting Clinton’s opposition to progressivism within her party and adding that there is a “good chance” she will run in 2024 if the Democrats lose control of Congress.
My take is that AOC is definitely running for President in 2024. And she will continue to blast Biden and other Democrats in anticipation. Don’t see her staying in Congress past then though as she will use her fame to make millions.
— Take back the USA (@WillieSam15) June 4, 2022
AOC’s Biden comments definitely indicate displeasure in his performance so far – despite praising him during the very same interview – but don’t necessarily mean she intends to run herself in 2024.
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While it’s technically a possibility, it could easily be argued that AOC is hedging her bets and waiting to see if a viable progressive candidate puts its head above the parapet during the next presidential primary season.
Jack Buckby is a British author, counter-extremism researcher, and journalist based in New York. Reporting on the U.K., Europe, and the U.S., he works to analyze and understand left-wing and right-wing radicalization, and reports on Western governments’ approaches to the pressing issues of today. His books and research papers explore these themes and propose pragmatic solutions to our increasingly polarized society.
