politics
Why Trump's superfans dig Ocasio-Cortez
'I aspire to be the conservative AOC,' said one GOP congressman.
By BEN SCHRECKINGER
| 01/30/2019 05:02 AM EST
They detest what she stands for. They think her policies would destroy the country. And they wish she would just go away.
All the same, many of President Donald Trump’s most media-conscious supporters can’t help but admit it: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has got serious political game.
“I aspire to be the conservative AOC,†Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) told POLITICO. Gaetz, an outspoken 36-year-old in his second term who has achieved a measure of prominence as a highly visible Trump defender, said there’s just one problem with that aspiration: “I can’t dance for shit.â€
"AOC has what I call 'gameness' or competitive heart — the combination of grit, determination, fighting spirit that you can't coach,†Steve Bannon, Trump’s former chief strategist, told POLITICO. “You either have it or you don't, and she has it big league."
Such admiration, in spite of vast ideological and demographic differences, is a testament to just how quickly the 29-year-old former activist and waitress has achieved political stardom. It’s also a sign that many parts of Trump’s playbook — a populist image, an authentic social media presence, a willingness to lash out at mainstream media gatekeepers and fact-checkers, and a lack of deference to party leaders — are becoming enduring features of American politics, rather than some aberration made possible only by Trump’s unique persona or the state of the Republican Party circa 2015
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/01/30/aoc-congress-republicans-1134065
