AOC stuns Joy Reid on why so many Trump supporters voted for her

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shocked MSNBC host Joy Reid with her simple explanation of why some voters in New York chose to elect Donald Trump as president but voted against her.

The Republican president-elect improved his share of support in New York City, including in AOC’s 2024 district, leaving some scratching their heads as to how anyone could vote for him and a progressive member of “The Squad.”

After the election, the Democratic congresswoman said on social media that she wanted to hear from such voters about their thoughts. The responses poured in. She shared her findings in an interview with the liberal news network.

“When it comes to people splitting their ticket, I think a lot of people have mentioned different things,” Ocasio-Cortez told Reid.

“First, there is universal frustration in this country, much of which I believe to be justified, raging against a political establishment that puts the interests of corporations and billionaires first and their needs above the needs of working Americans,” she explained out.

AOC said there are people who have seen child tax credits cut off and SNAP benefits stopped while billionaires like Elon Musk got tax breaks. She argued that they can channel this “righteous anger.”

“But why vote for Elon Musk and Donald Trump?” Reid pushed back.

“I think that’s obviously the question,” AOC said.

“It doesn’t make any sense,” Reid replied, confused.

AOC noted that Democrats are still learning from the results of the November election. The results produced a trifecta for Republicans with control of the White House, Senate and House of Representatives.

The New York congresswoman said understanding what happened is an ongoing process, but she did have one opinion about Trump.

“There’s something to be said about it, it doesn’t matter that he’s lying. He says, ‘I’m fighting for you,'” she said.

Reid wondered how people could believe it was Harris who became “too woke,” noting that she campaigned with Liz Cheney.

But when it comes to the debate about being “too woke,” it was Trump who advanced that narrative. During the campaign Trump’s campaign spent millions running an ad that demonized transgender people and attacked Harris, accusing her of being pro “they/them.”

AOC argued that people targeted the Harris because of “they/them” messages, but pointed out that the second part of that ad stated that Trump is for “you.”

“Democrats often speak in terms and concepts in their messages and not in the second person,” she said. “I care about you.”

The New York congressman argued that politics is a race to convince people who cares about them more.

MSNBC host Joy Reid looks baffled as to why voters would choose Trump, who has the backing of Elon Musk, while raging against an establishment that backs billionaires. “There’s no point,” she said

While Democrats will examine what went wrong with them in the coming months and years, AOC also noted that while there were people who split the tickets to vote for her and Trump in her district, Democrats also “People lost to the bank.”

“A lot of people say this about why I voted for you and Trump,” AOC explained. “And some people say this is why I didn’t vote or didn’t vote first.”

She believes there were some voters who selected Democrats on the ballot but did not fill out the top portion of the ticket.

Reid also asked Ocasio-Cortez whether the people she has spoken to who voted for Trump expected which way the president-elect’s Cabinet nominations would go so far.

“No way,” the congressman replied, shaking his head.

This week, Trump announced a series of nominations that have sent shockwaves through Washington, among both Democrats and Republicans.

He chose MAGA rabble-rouser Matt Gaetz, who was investigated for sexual misconduct, as his attorney general pick.

Trump also nominated a conservative TV personality with a history of controversial comments and no experience in senior military leadership to lead the Defense Department, and he appointed vaccine skeptic Robert Kennedy Jr. to head the Department of Health and Human Services.

The president-elect also named former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, who was accused of Russian disinformation, as his director of National Intelligence.

“People may want to take a vindictive attitude towards this, but it’s really heartbreaking,” AOC said.

She said people need to understand that there are millions of people who work two or three shifts a day to make ends meet and don’t read the newspaper.

“It’s not to say that people are uneducated or uninformed or anything like that, but this is real life,” the congressman said.

She said that more than in previous elections. People are coming to her with questions and concerns about whether Trump will actually do what he said he would do during his campaign.

Donald Trump and Robert Kennedy Jr. AOC warned that Kennedy’s leadership of HHS could lead to the decimation of health centers

AOC blasted Trump’s DNI pick, former Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard, calling her a ‘pro-war nominee worldwide’

When AOC spoke about Kennedy’s nomination, he specifically expressed concern that rural health centers could be decimated under his watch, leaving Trump voters without access to health care.

“I actually think, almost more than Matt Gaetz, that the appointment of Tulsi Gabbard is devastating,” Ocasio-Cortez also said.

AOC castigated Gabbard, saying, “As much as she says she is an anti-war person, she is not. She supports very pro-war people abroad.”

“Let’s be very clear: a nomination for Tulsi Gabbard is a pro-war nomination worldwide,” the congresswoman said.