Fox News is making a big deal over a recent MSNBC interview with Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, or AOC, for being a “softball” interview.
The interview was a softball, but if you’ve ever watched Fox News put the kid gloves on for a conservative, you’d appreciate that Fox News has no standing to be calling out anyone for softball interviews.
The interview
The host of the interview was Jen Psaki who you may remember as Biden’s first press secretary. Psaki asked AOC what people get wrong about her or what they don’t know about her.
“When I meet with colleagues or individuals that I had not met with before, “AOC said, “they are surprised that I do my homework a lot.”
It’s a lame answer. Doing your homework shouldn’t be superlative or noteworthy for a member of Congress; doing your homework should just be par for the course, something that simply goes without saying.
Now, that being said, does AOC do her homework?
Last week when the Supreme Court struck down affirmative action, AOC tweeted wondering why the court also didn’t strike down legacy admissions along with affirmative action. Had she done her homework, or had she had a basic understanding of judicial procedure, she would have understood that legacy admissions were not before the court.
That’s a super specific example, but point is, AOC is walking around like some uber technocrat who has been up late studying for the final. AOC seems to have the depth of however many characters Twitter allows per tweet these days. She’ a social media influencer who has a seat in Congress, not some policy wonk on a progressive mission.
Fox News response
Anyways, I can criticize AOC and her interviews all I want. Fox News, however, should be more careful about throwing stones in glass houses.
Fox News contributor Dr. Nicole Saphier called AOC’s answer “really pathetic.”
“That answer, when she was asked walking along the river, you know what is something…powerful that people just don’t know about you and the only thing that she could come up with is that ‘I do my homework.’ That says ‘I am a mediocre at best and I will do the minimum possible. I’m going to show up for congressional hearings, and I’ll have read the pamphlet that someone put together for me.’ That’s what that says.”
Conservative commentator Charlie Hurt said AOC can “come off like she is doing her homework” because she “gets softball questions like that.”
“I’ve never seen a politician come to Congress who is more deeply beloved with zero record whatsoever than AOC,” Hurt continued. “And she milks it brilliantly.” Okay, fair point.
Tom Shillue weighed in, too. “She’s good at all the social media stuff. When I see her talking on the…floor when she’s doing these committee, you know, question and answer – she’s not as impressive as she is when she’s doing makeup tips. She’s good at these little things.”
I’m not aware of AOC offering makeup tips. I assume he’s using an exaggerated example of the way AOC jumps on TikTok with trivial yet impassioned sound clips.
And yes, AOC is much more effective in soundbites and tweets than she is in a question and answer session.
I agree that AOC is not especially impressive. But for Fox to make a big deal out of her getting “softball” interviews is the pot calling the kettle black.
Harrison Kass is the Senior Editor and opinion writer at 19FortyFive. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.
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