AOC Slams Kasich Ahead Of DNC Convention: ‘I hope he gets through to GOP voters’

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) slammed former Ohio Republican Governor. John Kasich ahead of the opening night of the Democratic National Convention speech on Monday after he criticized the progressive first-term congresswoman in an interview saying she doesn’t represent the Democratic Party and only cares about receiving the “outsized publicity.”

“People on the extreme, whether they’re on the left or on the right, they get outsized publicity that tends to define their party. You know, I listen to people all the time make these statements, and because AOC gets outsized publicity doesn’t mean she represents the Democratic Party,” Kasich said in an interview with BuzzFeed News published Monday morning. “She’s just a part, just some member of it. And it’s on both sides, whether it’s the Republicans or whether it’s the Democrats.”

Ocasio-Cortez hit back at Kasich in a serious of tweet Monday, arguing his record as GOP governor makes him “an anti-choice extremist” and “is not a friend to workers” shouldn’t “get to say” who represents the Democratic Party.

We can build bridges & not lose sight of our values.

It’s important to remember that Kasich is an anti-choice extremist. He 100% will (and has) signed away our reproductive rights the moment he has the opportunity to do so. He is not a friend to workers.https://t.co/7S8504VZcK
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) August 17, 2020

“It’s great that Kasich has woken up & realized the importance of supporting a Biden-Harris ticket. I hope he gets through to GOP voters. Yet also, something tells me a Republican who fights against women’s rights doesn’t get to say who is or isn’t representative of the Dem party.”

She added in another tweet, “We can build bridges & not lose sight of our values. It’s important to remember that Kasich is an anti-choice extremist. He 100% will (and has) signed away our reproductive rights the moment he has the opportunity to do so. He is not a friend to workers.”

The former 2016 Republican presidential nominee told BuzzFeed that he agreed to speak at the convention after the Biden campaign reached out because “my Republican affiliation is outweighed by my concern about the direction of the country.”

Ocasio-Cortez who is scheduled to also speak Monday evening will only have one minute to speak in a pre-recorded message where she will introduce Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) before he gives an eight-minute speech, the longest speech allotted time given to any speaker Monday evening. Progressive blasted the DNC decision as “unacceptable” of giving AOC just 60 seconds for a pre-recorded remark, while giving Kasich a much longer time slot.

According to a recent CBS News poll released on Friday, only 38% of Democrats want to hear Kasich’s speech at the convention, while 63% said they wanted to hear from Ocasio-Cortez.

Kasich will not be the only disaffected Republican that will address the Democratic convention. On Monday morning, the DNC released the names of three more Republicans who will speak during the convention two-hour broadcast. Two other former Republican lawmakers — former Rep. Susan Molinari (R-NY) and former New Jersey Gov. Christine Todd Whitman as well as Hewlett Packard CEO Meg Whitman will all speak at the convention Monday evening.