AOC Links 2020 Lockdown Rhetoric to Earlier Support for Defund-the-Police

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told a journalist at one outlet that the “rhetoric” surrounding the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown created a broadening of the Overton window, which she believes led her to support the defund-the-police movement. She highlighted the severe shutdowns, record unemployment, and intense scrutiny of police after high-profile shootings as factors that made radical proposals seem viable. Ocasio-Cortez said current conversations about crime differ fundamentally from those years, and the language used then would not be employed now.

Host Jonathan Karl had cited her former position to question whether the left had gone too far after 2020, also mentioning Wisconsin Rep. Francesca Hong’s similar shift. Ocasio-Cortez noted she has moved toward strengthening public safety and addressing crime’s root causes, while focusing on winning back congressional seats for the midterms. She referenced a phrase from Councilman Chi Osse, “Woke 1 was crazy,” to describe early-pandemic policy pushes.