Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Hypocritical Republicans Forgive Trump's Sexual Assault, but Outraged by Tlaib's Swearing

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Hypocritical Republicans Forgive Trump's Sexual Assault, but are Outraged by Tlaib's Swearing
Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Democrat of New York, leaves a photo opportunity with the female Democratic members of the 116th US House of Representatives outside the US Capitol in Washington, DC, January 4. SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the freshman Democrat from New York, came to the defense of her fellow freshman colleague Saturday morning for profanity-laced remarks recently made about President Donald Trump.

"We're gonna go in there and impeach the motherf***er," Representative Rashida Tlaib told a crowd at a MoveOn.org event Thursday night.

Those remarks led to swift condemnation from Republicans, including the president, who told reporters in the Rose Garden Friday that Tlaib "dishonored herself" and "dishonored her family" with her comments. He added that the Michigan Democrat, who's the first Palestinian-American woman elected to Congress, was "highly disrespectful to the United States of America."

Ocasio-Cortez hit back at the president and the GOP in a tweet Saturday, calling their response to Tlaib "Republican hypocrisy at its finest."

"Saying that Trump admitting to sexual assault on tape is just 'locker room talk,' but scandalizing themselves into faux-outrage when my sis says a curse word in a bar," she said. "GOP lost entitlement to policing women's behavior a long time ago."

Since Tlaib's remarks, Democrats have pointed to Trump's past comments in an Access Hollywood tape revealed during the 2016 campaign, where he said, "when you're a star… you can do anything."

"Grab 'em by the pussy," he said. "You can do anything."

Nearly two dozen women also came forward during the campaign to accuse the president of committing past sexual assaults.

Ocasio-Cortez added she backed Tlaib and her impeachment remarks, saying "the Bronx and Detroit ride together."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in an MSNBC town hall that Tlaib's comments were "nothing worse than what the president has said."

Tlaib has refused to apologize and even doubled down on her profanity-laced reference in an interview with local Detroit TV affiliate WDIV.

"I think President Trump has met his match," she said. "It's probably exactly how my grandmother, if she was alive, would say it. Obviously, I am a member of Congress and things that I say are elevated on a national level, and I understand that very clearly."

Pelosi and House Democrats have, for the most part, balked at condemning Tlaib, with the speaker and others saying they themselves would not personally use the language, but they are "not in the censorship business," as Pelosi put it.

"I don't use that kind of language," Democrat David Cicilline told Newsweek Friday. "But the reality is, there are people who feel very strongly about this administration and the way this president has undermined core American values and consider him to be a real threat to things that we care about in this country."

However, Eliot Engel, the Democrat from New York, did strongly condemn the remarks, telling Newsweek they were hurtful to the party.

"I don't think it's helpful, and it puts, frankly, Democrats on the defense when we should be on the offensive," he said. "It's the Republicans and the president who should be on the defensive."

Democratic leadership and veteran Democrats, including Pelosi, Cicilline and Engel, have agreed that it's far too soon for talks of impeachment. They believe special counsel Robert Mueller should release his final report and Democrats should conduct congressional investigations before moving forward on such a serious matter.

Uncommon Knowledge

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

About the writer


Ramsey Touchberry is a Washington Correspondent for Newsweek based in the nation's capital, where he regularly covers Congress. 

Prior to ... Read more

To read how Newsweek uses AI as a newsroom tool, Click here.

Newsweek cover
  • Newsweek magazine delivered to your door
  • Newsweek Voices: Diverse audio opinions
  • Enjoy ad-free browsing on Newsweek.com
  • Comment on articles
  • Newsweek app updates on-the-go
Newsweek cover
  • Newsweek Voices: Diverse audio opinions
  • Enjoy ad-free browsing on Newsweek.com
  • Comment on articles
  • Newsweek app updates on-the-go