AOC Shares Reasons Why Her Supporters Voted for Trump

Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez asked her constituents why they voted for President-elect Donald Trump, and the answers could be useful for Democrats trying to understand why they lost the election.
The New York Democrat asked her followers on Instagram to explain why they voted the way they did, specifically asking those who backed Trump for the presidential election but voted Democrat for down-ballot races why they split their ticket.
The query came amid a period of soul-searching among top Democrats in the wake of Trump’s decisive victory over Vice President Kamala Harris.
“People who supported both Trump and me, or voted Trump/Democrat, tell me why,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on her Instagram story.
The responses included a variety of reasons, from policy positions to the attitudes of the candidates. The economy was one of the most commonly mentioned issues, with one response reading: “Trump is going to get us the money and lets men have a voice. You’re brilliant and have amazing passion!”
Another wrote: “[Harris] was more for rights than the economy, and when she talked about it she didn’t have a plan.”
Out of the 20 responses Ocasio-Cortez shared, the majority of them mentioned her and Trump’s status as “outsider” politicians who were not part of the establishment.
“I voted Trump, but I like you and Bernie. I don’t trust either party’s establishment politicians,” one reply said.
Another voter said: “I feel that you both are outsiders compared to the rest of DC, and less establishment,” with another saying: “You signified change. Trump signified change. I’ve said lately, Trump sounds more like you.”
Another frequent point was foreign policy, particularly the war in Gaza. The Harris campaign faced difficulty navigating their approach to the Middle East, with several polls showing that Arab Americans were unhappy with the Biden administration’s handling of conflict.
One voter confirmed they voted for Ocasio-Cortez, but not Harris, replying: “I voted for Trump and you, not genocide Harris. Dems need Bernie!!”
Another said: “[Trump] speaks of war as something that is bad. Democrats became the party that supports war.”
Ocasio-Cortez said that the responses are part of a listening process, and that “sometimes you have to dig in and see it to understand and adapt!”
In reaction to Trump’s election win, the congresswoman put out a statement saying: “We find ourselves I believe in a time where there are, lets say peers, in history of mass movements of people that mobilize to protect one another in times of fascism and authoritarianism. And this is the era that we are poised to enter.
“Donald Trump has talked about turning the military on U.S. citizens that he deems his domestic political enemies. Authoritarians and people that he affiliates closely with and strong men abroad—in regimes like that, it is not uncommon to jail political dissidents or legislative opponents. This is the world that we may very realistically be entering.”
Newsweek contacted Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s office for additional comment on the responses.
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