Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was embroiled in a Twitter spat this weekend after criticizing CBS News for an apparent lack of black journalists covering the 2020 election.
The democrat, who represents New York's 14th congressional district, spoke out yesterday in response to a tweet from CBS producer Ben Mitchell which announced the team covering the upcoming election. In the Friday post, Mitchell published the headshots of the staffers.
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Ocasio-Cortez wrote: "This WH admin has made having a functional understanding of race in America one of the most important core competencies for a political journalist to have, yet @CBSNews hasn't assigned a *single* black journalist to cover the 2020 election."
The newly-elected politician added: "Unacceptable in 2019. Try again." The Twitter post has currently racked up close to 4,000 shares, with nearly 20,000 users "liking" the stance.
The tweet caught the attention of Josh Kraushaar, politics editor at the National Journal, who hit back on the social media platform likening Ocasio-Cortez to president Donald Trump.
"Another thing AOC has in common with Trump: media scold," Kraushaar wrote on Saturday, using the common abbreviation for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's name. It didn't end there.
Not backing down, the politician countered: "Or: maybe having powerful editorial positions awash in people from one race, class, or gender isn't a good idea; since we get 1000% more takes on 'brown lady says a curse word' than an actual white supremacist in Congress. If you won't look the mirror, people will do it for you." As noted by The Hill, Ocasio-Cortez was speaking in reference to an post by Media Matters for America which she had re-tweeted earlier.
Kraushaar later said the seven campaign reporters "looked racially diverse" but conceded there was no black representation currently on the team.
The editor tweeted: "For what it's worth, the mix of 7 embedded campaign reporters looked racially diverse (at least based on last names), with the exception of lacking an African-American.
"If there aren't strict racial quotas for every batch of hires, does it mean a company is racist?" he added.
Ocasio-Cortez, who has become known for connecting with followers with a savvy use of social media, was not done. "Do you understand how fundamental the black experience is to American politics? And to American history?" she wrote. "One race isn't substitutable for another. It doesn't work like that. It's not about 'quotas.' It's about understanding the country you're living in."
Making one final point on the matter yesterday, she added: "I am tempted to change my Twitter name to: 'Alexandria 'looked racially diverse (at least based on last names) Ocasio-Cortez.'"
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