Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., took part in a CNN town hall on Wednesday where the young New York City representative was asked whether Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., should be worried about a primary challenge from her.
Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders quickly pushed back on the question, raising their voices as they criticized its premise and took aim at Republicans.
"I mean, no, because I don't think this is about anything… This is what we're talking about!" Ocasio-Cortez exclaimed.
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As Ocasio-Cortez began her answer, Sanders interjected, saying, "Let me jump in on this one."
"That's exactly what we're talking… we have a country that is falling apart!" he said. "We had a housing crisis, a health care crisis, an education crisis, massive income and wealth inequality, corrupt campaign finances, and the media says, 'Are you going to run? What are you going to run for?' Nobody cares!"
Reacting to the senator's claim that the media focuses more on potential campaigns than national issues, CNN's Kaitlan Collins pointed out that Vice President JD Vance and President Donald Trump have recently questioned whether Ocasio-Cortez might challenge Schumer in 2026.
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Sanders argued that Vance and Trump are raising this question to "deflect attention away from the real issues" before laying out what he felt are the main issues impacting Americans today.
"We're living in the richest country in the history of the world, right? All right, you tell me why we're the only nation not to guarantee health care to all people. The only nation not to guarantee paid family and medical leave, why we have a $7.25 an hour minimum wage, why we have 800,000 people sleeping out on the street," Sanders said.
"Let's talk about that issue - not her political future. She'll decide that," Sanders said.
This is not the first time Ocasio-Cortez's aspirations within the Democratic Party have been questioned amid party infighting over Schumer's handling of the ongoing government shutdown.
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Earlier this month, Ocasio-Cortez appeared on MSNBC to discuss the shutdown and told Republicans, "My office is open, and you are free to walk in and negotiate with me directly," sparking speculation from Republicans about who's actually leading the Democratic Party.
Following the representative's comments on MSNBC, former Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., got into a sharp exchange with a reporter after being asked whether Republicans should negotiate with Ocasio-Cortez to end the shutdown.
"There was a thought from the Republicans that AOC is directing this, and she said that senators are welcome to go to her office directly. Is she driving that?" the reporter asked Pelosi.
"Why are you saying such a ridiculous thing?" Pelosi fired back. "She's wonderful, she's a real team player, and the rest of that. You started by saying Republicans say that she's directing this. She is not, Hakeem Jeffries is."
