AOC defends firing back at Marjorie Taylor Greene during Jasmine Crockett feud

Washington DC - Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez recently shared her thoughts after she stood up to Marjorie Taylor Greene in defense of her colleague, Jasmine Crockett.

In a recent interview, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (r.) defended her decision to step up to Marjorie Taylor Greene for insulting her colleague.
In a recent interview, Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (r.) defended her decision to step up to Marjorie Taylor Greene for insulting her colleague.  © Collage: CHIP SOMODEVILLA / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

Last month, Crockett got into a heated exchange with MTG during a House hearing after the Georgia congresswoman insulted Crockett's "fake eyelashes" for seemingly no reason.

AOC quickly stepped in to defend her colleague, calling Greene out for her "disgusting" comment.

In a recent episode of the podcast On with Kara Swisher, the New York representative defended her decision to do so, despite criticism from some who have deemed their conduct unprofessional.

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"I completely understand folks looking at this and saying, 'Oh, this is terrible. Look at how low we've sunk,'" AOC said. "I want folks who say that to just hold a little space for what it means to be a woman of color in a body that is 70% male and overwhelmingly white."

Ocasio-Cortez went on to say that "there are rules against what happened" to Crockett, but as a woman of color, she is not granted the same protection as everyone else.

"So women of color... have to choose between accepting the indignity of your treatment because the institution will not protect you, or standing up for yourself and being smeared because standing up for yourself is then equated with the original offense," she argued.

Was there a racial component to Marjorie Taylor Greene's attack?

Rep. Jasmine Crockett (l.) and Rep. Greg Casar speaking at a news conference outside the US Capitol on February 14, 2024.
Rep. Jasmine Crockett (l.) and Rep. Greg Casar speaking at a news conference outside the US Capitol on February 14, 2024.  © Chip Somodevilla / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

During their tense exchange, Crockett famously described Greene as a "bleach blonde bad-built butch body."

A clip of her comment immediately went viral among social media users, who have shared countless memes and even created diss tracks.

The incident even inspired Crockett to launch a merchandise line based on the jab.

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Throughout her tenure in the House, Greene has become well known for feuding with colleagues on both sides of the political aisle and for shamelessly pushing arguably racist rhetoric.

Similarly to AOC, Crockett has said during an interview that she also believes Greene's attack was rooted in racism, arguing that she drew attention to aspects of her looks in an attempt to "associate anything I do as a form of beautification with being quote-unquote 'ghetto.'"

"I am not the only woman in Congress that wears lashes, and there are women on her side of the aisle that wear lashes as well, as well as hair extensions," Crockett continued.

"But she's never felt like that was a dig that she needed to take at anyone except for me, a Black woman who sits on the committee," she added.

Cover photo: Collage: CHIP SOMODEVILLA / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP

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