Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) took to Twitter on Monday to call "double standards," saying Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis) was "considered genius" after "being elected at 28" while she has been called "a fraud."
Last month, the U.S. Representative-elect—whose outspokenness on social media has drawn her both praise and scorn—became the youngest female voted into Congress. Earlier in June, she defeated Democratic Caucus Chair Joe Crowley to win the Democratic primary in New York's 14th congressional district.
Read more: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's most popular Twitter takedowns and comebacks
"Double standards are Paul Ryan being elected at 28 and immediately being given the benefit of his ill-considered policies considered genius; and me winning a primary at 28 to immediately be treated with suspicion & scrutinized, down to my clothing, of being a fraud," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted, alongside a Vox article titled "Paul Ryan's long con."
Double standards are Paul Ryan being elected at 28 and immediately being given the benefit of his ill-considered policies considered genius; and me winning a primary at 28 to immediately be treated with suspicion & scrutinized, down to my clothing, of being a fraud. https://t.co/KipcyHaaAb
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) December 10, 2018
Ocasio-Cortez—a self-described Democratic Socialist—will take office on Jan. 3, 2019, making history as the youngest woman ever in Congress. She will be 29-years-old.
Following the midterm elections, the young Rep.-elect has increasingly used social media as a tool to call out her critics and other Twitter-trolls, as well as sharing details of what her role in Congress will be to her supporters.
On Monday morning, Ocasio-Cortez said John Kelly lied about Representative Frederica Wilson (D-Fla.) and called on the president's chief of staff to issue her an apology.
"John Kelly was straight up exposed for lying about @RepWilson in comments aimed at discrediting her," she tweeted. "He absolutely owes her an apology, and his refusal to do so isn't a sign of strength - it's cowardice."
The New York congresswoman-elect currently has over 1.54 million followers on Facebook and counting, a figure matching that of the 63 other incoming Democratic freshman House members' combined.
Despite the success of her media-savvy techniques in energizing Democrats, Ocasio-Cortez has at times made errors in her tweets. Last week, The Washington Post called out one of her posts on health care funding as "badly flawed."
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