Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s Far-Right Fan Club

They hate what she stands for but can't help but admire her major political chops.

AOC
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has fans on both sides of the aisle. (John Lamparski/Getty Images)
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They hate the policies she stands behind and believe she’s going to destroy the country but, through gritted teeth, many far-right politicians and Trump’s most media-savvy supporters have to admit — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s got political game.

“I aspire to be the conservative AOC,” Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) told Politico. Gaetz, a 36-year-old in his second term who has achieved a measure of prominence as an unapologetic Trump defender, said there’s just one problem with that aspiration: “I can’t dance for sh-t.”

Even Steve Bannon admire’s Ocasio-Cortez‘s political chops.

“AOC has what I call ‘gameness’ or competitive heart — the combination of grit, determination, fighting spirit that you can’t coach,” Trump’s former chief strategist, told Politico. “You either have it or you don’t, and she has it big league.”

This level of idolization from people with such polarizing opinions to her own is a testament to the 29-year-old former activist’s savvy.

It’s also a sign that some of Trump’s tactics during the 2016 presidential election — like turning his back on the establishment and having a prominent social media platform — have true staying power.

“Laughing at Trump, as the libs did, sure stopped him from being POTUS,” the far-right activist Mike Cernovich tweeted in November, adding, “Laughing at AOC, as the cons are doing now, sure is hurting her.”

Cernovich has gone as far as labeling AOC the left-wing Trump with a better understanding of social media and the benefit of positive coverage from mainstream outlets.

“I think her policies and everything are a disaster but I just look at her effectiveness,” Cernovich said, praising her as an exemplar of the 19th-century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche’s concept of will to power. “No one’s more effective than her right now.”

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