Published 15:58 IST, October 20th 2019
Ocasio-Cortez calls Bernie Sanders 'uncle', backs presidential bid
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, US Representative for New York’s 14th congressional district, endorsed the candidature of Bernie Sanders for the presidential bid.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, US Representative for New York’s 14th congressional district, endorsed the leading Democratic candidate Bernie Sanders for the presidential bid. Ocasio-Cortez, in a massive rally of Bernie Sanders in her Queen’s New York constituency, revealed that she calls Sanders ‘tio Bernie’ which means ‘uncle Bernie’ in English.
Call for a mass movement of the working class
Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren also coveted her endorsement but Ocasio-Cortez backed Sanders. Ocasio-Cortez recorded a video for Bernie Sanders’ website endorsing Sander’s candidature.
“The first time I ever heard about Bernie Sanders was when I was a waitress in a greasy spoon diner type of restaurant in downtown Manhattan,” said Ocasio-Cortez. The Congresswoman said that she didn’t think she deserved health insurance or fair wage and thought that’s how life was. “This is not just about running for the President, this is about creating a mass movement of working-class people,” she added.
Bernie Sanders an inspiration for Ocasio-Cortez
Ocasio-Cortez said that Bernie Sanders was the reason she could believe that running for the office was possible for her. “Because he proved that you could run for office and not take big money, and you could run a grassroots campaign,” said Ocasio-Cortez. She applauded Sanders for not compromising the lives of working-class to accommodate corporations.
“And now that I am on the other side in the halls of Congress, it astounds me that he has been able to withstand the intense amount of pressure there is here to conform, to stay quiet and to compromise the lives of working people so that we can accommodate the corporations and not the other way around,” she added.
Ocasio-Cortez was the 'surprise guest'
Bernie Sanders had already hinted about Ocasio-Cortez’s support during a Democratic debate on October 16, when he asked people to attend his rally on Saturday, October 19, featuring a “surprise guest”. The endorsement came as a major boost for the US Senator from Vermont after the critics were questioning his fitness for the highest post. “This is not about me, this is not about Senator Sanders, this is about what we have to accomplish together. This is not about saying everyone should have healthcare with some asterisks or that your student loan should be forgiven under certain conditions. This is about unconditional, universal, guaranteed advanced standard of living in the United States of America,” said Ocasio-Cortez.
Updated 16:48 IST, October 20th 2019