Far-left Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is looking at the bright side of hundreds of thousands of progressives opting not to vote for President Biden in Democratic primaries due to his handling of the Israel-Hamas war.
“We need to acknowledge, actually, the upside of the ‘uncommitted’ movement, which is that these are folks that easily could have given way to cynicism and walked away,” the 34-year-old said on CBS’ “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” Monday.
Biden, 81, was rocked Feb. 27 when more than 100,000 Michiganders voted “uncommitted” in the Democratic primary to protest his support of Israel in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack that killed an estimated 1,200 people.
That trend has continued in other battleground states such as Minnesota, where nearly 46,000 — 19% of the primary electorate — voted “uncommitted,” and Wisconsin, where more than 48,000 marked their ballot as “uninstructed.”
“I do believe that many in the ‘uncommitted’ campaigns also know and understand the threat of a Donald Trump presidency,” added Ocasio-Cortez, who confirmed to Colbert that she plans on backing Biden on Nov. 5. “The Democratic Party has always been a coalition party, and we have to bring everybody together.”
“Once people feel like their concerns have been seen, then we can start the process of coming together,” she went on. “I think they’re using this process to be seen, and it’s best that we do that now, than for folks to stay home in November.”
Biden has seemingly recalibrated his approach to Israel over recent weeks, chiding in early February that its war efforts have been “over the top.”
Last week, Biden held a combative call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu demanding a temporary cease-fire and calling for the US ally to be more helpful at funneling aid to the Palestinians.
Still, the administration last month agreed to carry out a previously planned weapon transfer featuring billions of dollars worth of bombs and fighter jets.
Ocasio-Cortez has similarly stepped up her rhetoric on the Israel-Hamas war.
Last month, pro-Palestinian protesters accosted the Bronx and Queens congresswoman and her fiancé, Riley Roberts, outside a Brooklyn movie theater for stopping short of dubbing the war a “genocide.”
Just before Congress broke for its two-week Easter recess last month, Ocasio-Cortez took to the House floor and accused Israel of carrying out a genocide in the Gaza Strip.
“If you want to know what an unfolding genocide looks like, open your eyes,” AOC declared at the time.
“It looks like the forced famine of 1.1 million innocents. It looks like thousands of children eating grass as their bodies consume themselves, while trucks of food are slowed and halted just miles away.”
The progressive darling defended her rhetoric during her appearance Monday night, recalling a close friend of hers who survived the Rwandan genocide of 1994 who said victims of mass killing only want to be humanized.
“What I saw in that moment, is that we have been on the precipice of a mass famine that would indiscriminately kill nearly a million children, adults, innocent people, men, women and children,” she said.
The “Squad” member also lauded Biden as a “man of tremendous empathy” and revealed that she has spoken with him on the issue.
“We are starting to see the increased urgency that he’s seen on this issue,” she added.
Ocasio-Cortez and some of her other fellow “Squad” members such as Reps. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY), Cori Bush (D-Mo.) and Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) are facing Democratic primary challengers motivated by the conflict in Israel.
On March 28, Colbert moderated a glitzy, star-studded, $26 million Biden fundraiser at Radio City Music Hall featuring former Presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton.
