AOC says she collaborates with Make America Healthy Again advocates on health policy

In a recent episode of the Majority Report radio show, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez explained that she regularly engages with advocates from the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement, emphasizing that their agenda is not confined to any single party. She connected progressive skepticism toward the health system with broader corruption in agriculture and corporate America, describing the political system as compromised on both sides.

Ocasio-Cortez also criticized the post-2024 election focus of Democratic leaders on metrics from male-hosted podcasts, arguing that this overlooked the significance of the MAHA vote. A May Kaiser Family Foundation poll indicated that 41% of U.S. adults identify with MAHA, while majorities expressed concerns about insufficient regulation of food additives and pesticides and low confidence in the EPA and FDA. She referenced her own upbringing in a family wary of medical institutions and highlighted how issues framed as right-wing are often rooted in working-class anxieties about affordable health care. The piece noted that some Democrats, including Cory Booker, see an opportunity to attract MAHA supporters, while the movement has already influenced Republican primaries, such as helping farmer Zach Lahn win an Iowa gubernatorial contest against a Trump-backed candidate.