A ‘formidable’ 2028 contender? Why Republicans shouldn’t ignore Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

0:02 presidential candidate, New York representative alexandria ocasio-cortez

0:06 speaking with students friday in chicago

0:09 on the state of the economy and politics where she

0:12 also addressed head-on what her political future may hold they

0:17 I assume that my ambition is a title or a seat,

0:21 and my ambition is way bigger than that.

0:28 My ambition is to change this country.

0:31 But I make decisions by waking up in the morning,

0:33 looking out the window and observing the conditions of this country, and saying,

0:38 what move or what decision can I make today

0:42 that is going to get us closer to that future stronger,

0:46 faster, better than yesterday.

0:50 Let's bring in former Missouri State Representative

0:53 and CEO of Pine Street Strategies Don Calloway,

0:56 Democratic Strategist and author Jenna Arnold,

0:59 and Republican Strategist and MSNOW Political Analyst Susan Del Purcio.

1:03 Hey guys, glad to have you here.

1:05 Jenna, I'm curious what you make of the way

1:07 Ocasio Cortez described her approach every day.

1:09 Is this her way of pushing toward a presidential potential run?

1:14 And is it effective?

1:16 I think it's effective because it entirely removes the finish line.

1:20 I really like the language that she's using,

1:23 where it sort of strips the idea of this meritocracy,

1:26 political meritocracy-based game, where it's like, well,

1:29 there's one final destination and it's the Oval Office.

1:32 And what she's suggesting is that it's far beyond that.

1:35 I even think, if we would suggest that she is so focused on her legacy,

1:38 I would say it's even more than that.

1:41 It's almost poetic the way that she's suggesting it.

1:44 And I'm not necessarily endorsing her as the candidate.

1:46 But, you know, young voters are less interested in political celebrity

1:50 and more interested in whether someone

1:52 understands the scale of the structural problems.

1:55 And I think suggesting that Oval isn't the destination is doing just that.

1:59 Hmm.

1:59 Susan, how do Republicans view AOC?

2:02 I mean, in this economic environment and the growing inequality in the U .S.,

2:06 will her populist views appeal to voters outside of a progressive mindset?

2:10 Could she count on any Republican or independent support in a general?

2:16 Oh, well, that's a difficult question, Alex,

2:18 mostly because if she did run in a primary, how far left would she be pushed?

2:24 I mean, it's so important to remember

2:28 that the representative was elected 10 years ago, more than 10 years ago.

2:32 She has grown into this role at a tremendous rate and she's

2:37 yet been able to still keep herself fresh and new to younger voters.

2:42 And her ideas are out there.

2:43 I agree with Jenna.

2:45 She did a great job answering that question.

2:48 She's a formidable woman.

2:50 And I think Republicans would be making a big mistake to just,

2:55 you know, say no way.

2:57 But again, how far left would she be pushed in a primary is the question?

3:02 Yeah, that's a good question there.

3:04 But Don, timing wise, yes, she was elected 10 years ago now.

3:08 But is 2028 too soon for Ocasio-Cortez?

3:12 Could she have even broader appeal potentially launching,

3:15 let's say, from a Senate spot before running for president?

3:19 Well, I think that one thing we've seen over the course of the last 20 years is

3:23 that people's political timelines have been dramatically compressed.

3:26 If you can grab as much attention

3:28 from the American electorate as Representative Ocasio-Cortez CAN,

3:31 THEN YOU'RE A LEGITIMATE PERSON TO TALK ABOUT BEGINNING TO GIVE IT A SHOT.

3:35 I JUST WANT TO ECHO WHAT MY COLLEAGUES SAID A MOMENT AGO.

3:39 THIS PERSON HAS DRAMATICALLY MATURED INTO SOMEBODY

3:41 WHO WAS A LEGITIMATE CONTRIBUTING MEMBER OF CONGRESS.

3:44 SHE'S not a junior member by any fashion.

3:46 You don't hear her talking about the squad.

3:48 So she's grown into a person who can absolutely

3:51 claim her share to legitimately be on that primary stage.

3:55 Now, if she's someone who we're going to elect, all of that remains.

4:11 We're maintaining that there in Chicago.

4:12 And when you do that, perhaps the presidency is a path,

4:15 but perhaps it's the Ted Kennedy path of one who

4:18 has extraordinary influence from the left for generations to come.

4:22 This is a remarkable politician we're watching develop

4:24 in front of TAKE A LITTLE BIT TO US.

4:25 SO, DON, WE HEARD FORMER VICE PRESIDENT HARRIS

4:28 SLAMMING PRESIDENT TRUMP OVER THE WAR AND AROUND.

4:30 LET'S WATCH that.

4:33 I'm not going to dismiss him as being an idiot.

4:36 He's dangerous.

4:39 He's dangerous and America's security and prosperity

4:47 are in the hands and on the line.

4:52 He talked about obliterating and then he said, oh, he did it.

4:55 It's all just sick.

5:01 What is her role leading up to the midterms and then beyond in a potential

5:08 She's the current leader for the party as polls seem to indicate right now.

5:12 I don't think anyone is the current leader.

5:15 Like I said, I think that she is one of a very short

5:17 list of people who has already earned their spot on the stage in 2028.

5:22 So she can legitimately compete for the nomination and nobody

5:24 can make a strange face if she announces that.

5:27 Right now I think her role is to speak truth to power,

5:30 continue stirring the pot while selling her book.

5:32 Remember she's on a book tour which gives her this kind of parallel opportunity

5:36 to promote herself and of course promoting

5:38 herself is in fact promoting her candidacy.

5:40 But you know I don't think that anyone's the clear leader.

5:43 I think there are several people who have grabbed just enough of the leftist

5:47 constituency to call themselves serious primary contenders and a lot of that is

5:51 there are only a few people who have the money to be able

5:54 to make those arguments and grab that share of pie if you will.

5:58 But I still think that there's a yearning whether in 28 or 32 for the nominee

6:02 and the flag bearer to come

6:04 from somewhere outside of the traditional political avenues.

6:07 OK, but Susan, what does Harris need to do differently if she runs?

6:11 Does she even need to change much considering she got within two

6:15 percentage points in the popular vote with only 107 days to campaign?

6:20 For right now, Alex,

6:21 she just has to say that she's she can't turn down the opportunity.

6:25 So she leaves people speculating.

6:27 She's not she.

6:29 Well, Don's right.

6:30 She's earned her right to be on the stage,

6:33 but she's not I don't think she'll end up there.

6:35 She's not going to be of I don't

6:37 think a challenger in 2028 against a Republican candidate.

6:42 She won't make it through a primary.

6:43 She won't be able to raise the money.

6:45 And that's why she has to keep going strong now, because again,

6:48 the first TEST WILL BE, IF SHE DOES ANNOUNCE, HOW MUCH MONEY HAS SHE RAISED?

6:54 AND SHE CAN'T GO DOWN UNLESS SHE IS

6:57 THE OVERWHELMING NOMINEE AND SHOWING ALL THAT STRENGTH,

7:01 SHE CAN'T risks losing her front-runner status.

7:04 So I think she goes right up to that edge,

7:06 you know, for another year or so and then pulls back.

7:12 Well, Jenna, the DNC may challenge Susan's thinking there because

7:16 it is reported that it is boosting Harris for 2028,

7:19 despite not releasing that autopsy report from 2024.

7:23 And Harris says she's OK with the DNC putting it out there.

7:26 So why haven't we seen it?

7:28 What could BE SO HARMFUL, AND HASN'T THERE BEEN ENOUGH TIME TO FIX

7:32 ANY MISTAKES WITH JUST A DIFFERENT APPROACH?

7:36 THERE IS SO MANY MISTAKES THAT DO NEED TO BE FIXED FROM 2024,

7:39 BUT I DO NOT PUT THOSE at the feet of Kamala Harris.

7:44 This is not something that was on her list of things to do.

7:48 She should have been handed the keys to a Lamborghini that was, you know,

7:53 full of gas and already turned on with the seat warmers included

7:56 she was handed you know a honda that was like from like

8:00 25 years ago like and she had to like drive sick like

8:03 it was just really terrible analogies on on my part but it

8:07 was really not a machine that she could engage with i

8:10 mean the efforts on the ground in swing counties were largely carried

8:14 by local folks with no help from the dnc and i believe

8:19 that the The electorate has evolved much faster than the Democratic Party,

8:22 which is why we can put and we can only

8:25 center candidates that have really authentic voices folks like AOC.

8:31 Again, I think it's far too early to be talking about presidential.

8:35 I understand why you are and why we will be,

8:37 but we really have to be talking about what it is that we're

8:40 going to be doing in our own communities, in our own lives.

8:42 And it is not a savior-based candidate that is

8:44 going to come in and solve this problem for us.

8:47 We are going to have to have these conversations,

8:49 these uncomfortable conversations with our friends, with our family members.

8:53 It is on us again, not the DNC.

8:57 I tell you, Don and Jenna and Susan,

8:59 I'm so glad you guys are with me on this journey.

9:01 I love our weekend conversations, so I'll see you in the next one.

9:04 Happy Mother's Day, Alex.

9:05 Thank you.

9:05 Oh, thank you so much.

9:06 Happy Mother's Day.

9:07 Happy Mother's Day if you're a mother or if you're celebrating your mother.

9:10 It's all good.

9:11 Thank you guys.

9:12 Expect more fireworks on Capitol Hill this week