Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez was criticized for her apparent hypocrisy after she criticized JD Vance for “manspreading” — and was then quickly caught in the same sitting position.
The New York congressman reacted with horror to a video showing Vance sitting comfortably in a wide, comfortable chair with his legs spread relaxed.
“Why are you sitting like that,” she wrote on Tuesday, apparently in a dig at Vance’s spread-eagle pose.
But AOC’s spot was debunked within minutes.
Clown World, an account on X known for criticizing liberals, screenshotted AOC’s post and placed it next to her own wide-body posture less than two years ago.
Clown World’s post on X showing that AOC herself has manspread in the past
“AOC,” the account wrote of her criticism of Vance. “Also AOC,” it called the image of her broad stance.
In a separate afterClown World responded to AOC’s question, “Because he has ba–s.”
Vance, former President Donald Trump’s running mate, was criticized by other left-wing accounts on X for his stance during his appearance on the Full Send Podcast last Friday.
But with her massive following, AOC brought the clip back into the spotlight and now there’s some negative backlash online.
The photo of AOC onstage comes from a campaign event she held in October 2022, ahead of the contentious midterm elections — a race that saw Republicans gain a majority in the House of Representatives and Democrats retain control of the Senate.
The event took place in a small auditorium in her district and several protesters were filmed by user X Danny De Urbina and chanted, “AOC must go.” One man beat a drum to emphasize the cries of his allies.
The camera then zooms back in on AOC, who was sitting on stage with her legs spread and dancing to the beat of the drums, trying to make the interruption seem uninterrupted.
There was also a woman who repeatedly called AOC a “sellout.”
A spokesperson for the liberal congresswoman issued a statement to Newsweek After the event, she called the people who booed her disruptors who were “part of a far-right group that regularly protests at vaccination clinics, against LGBTQ rights, etc.”
“They were not voters,” the spokesperson added. “We thank the many voters from Astoria who came out last night to participate in the civic process. We are grateful that we were able to have a meaningful dialogue despite that group of outsiders.”
Vance also has a history of attacks on AOC.
During her October 2022 event in her congressional district, AOC sits with her legs spread, although the meaning of this was not understood at the time
After the protesters started disrupting her event, she started doing a little dance on stage to show that she wasn’t bothered by their shouting.
JD Vance is featured on the Full Send Podcast, a show hosted by Kyle Forgeard
When he ran for his Ohio Senate seat in 2021, he spoke to a Catholic group about its “sociopathic” attitude toward families and children, the Guardian reported.
“Maybe AOC didn’t find the right person, whatever the case may be. AOC has essentially said — if you look at her public comments on this — that it’s immoral to have children because of concerns about climate change. Right? This is, let’s just say it right away, a sociopathic attitude toward family,” Vance said.
Indeed, shortly after she was elected in 2018, AOC questioned the ethics of having children in a world suffering from climate change.
“There’s basically a scientific consensus that life is going to be very difficult for children. And it leads, I think, to young people having a legitimate question: Is it OK to still have children?” she said in a March 2019 Instagram Live.
Vance attacked AOC for her views on family around the time he made his infamous comments about the United States being run by “a bunch of childless cat ladies,” comments that have resurfaced since his appointment as vice president.
He specifically mentioned the names of Vice President Kamala Harris, AOC and Pete Buttigieg.