Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is Bernie Sanders’ lead acolyte in Congress.

And it’s looking like Ocasio-Cortez is gearing up to run for President.

And Bernie Sanders’ answer about AOC running in 2028 hit Democrats like a freight train.

Bernie Sanders Won’t Commit to Supporting Ocasio-Cortez in 2028

POLITICO’s Will Steakin pressed Sanders on whether Ocasio-Cortez, the next-generation socialist, was going to inherit his base in the 2028 election.

Sanders snapped at the idea that Ocasio-Cortez might be the one who picks up his mantle in the next Presidential Election.

“That is precisely the wrong question,” Sanders fumed, accusing Steakin of “sounding like an inside-the-Beltway media pundit.”

Sanders then began complaining that focusing on Ocasio-Cortez’s “will she or won’t she” about running for President was the wrong question.

“The media is focused on personality,” Sanders whined. “‘Oh my God, what will Alexandria do? Is she going to run for president? Run for the Senate? Stay in the House? Let’s talk about that for 14 years.’ How often do we talk about the fact that we’re the only major country on earth that doesn’t guarantee health care to all people?”

Sanders then refused to even endorse the idea of Ocasio-Cortez running for President.

“Do I talk to Alexandria? Yes, I do. Am I going to tell you what we talk about? Of course I won’t,” Sander added.

 “No comment. That’s her decision,” Sanders replied when asked if he thought it would be a good idea for Ocasio-Cortez to run for President.

AOC May Not be the Socialist Darling in 2028

Sanders’ refusal to commit to even encouraging Ocasio-Cortez to run for President in 2028 may be yet another warning sign of her diminished standing on the socialist left.

The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) rescinded their endorsement of Ocasio-Cortez in 2024 after Ocasio-Cortez hosted an event where she said anti-Zionism amounted to antisemitism.

“AOC recently hosted a public panel with leaders from the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, lobbyists for the (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) definition of antisemitism,” the DSA’s statement read. “On this panel, she conflated anti-Zionism with antisemitism and condemned boycotting Zionist institutions. This sponsorship is a deep betrayal to all those who’ve risked their welfare to fight Israeli apartheid and genocide through political and direct action in recent months, and in decades past.”

The Democrat Socialist Liberation Caucus also denounced the idea of Ocasio-Cortez running for President because she signed a statement in support of Israel’s Iron Dome missile defense system.

“Liberation condemns Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s continued retreat from socialist politics and rejects any effort to present her as the future presidential standard-bearer for DSA, or for the broader socialist movement,” the Democrat Socialist Liberation Caucus’s statement read.

Polls show Ocasio-Cortez is one of the frontrunners for the Democrat nomination.

A Bowling Green University/YouGuv poll found Ocasio-Cortez within in the margin of error of first place Kamala Harris among Democrat voters for their 2028 choice.

But Sanders’ refusal to publicly support her, and the newfound criticism of her position on Israel, mean Ocasio-Cortez may not be the Democrat Socialist’s candidate in 2028, which would be a severe blow to her chances.

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