Speaking to NBC News’ Kristen Welker on “Meet the Press,” Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez of New York claimed that Biden, who is struggling in the polls, is the DNC’s best chance of defeating Trump in 2024 despite the increasingly bad news for Biden coming from the polls. That interview occurred on Sunday, January 28.
Speaking to Welker about why she sees President Biden as the best option the Democrats currently have and why he is struggling in the polls, AOC first pointed to his performance in New Hampshire and his position as the presumptive nominee. She said, “I think what we have right now, what we’ve seen in New Hampshire, he is virtually the nominee of the party. His turnout in New Hampshire is actually not something to ignore.”
Continuing, she further explained why the New Hampshire results matter and what it is that they show about Democrat excitement to vote for Biden. She said, “We saw, from a write-in campaign, remember, President Biden wasn’t even on the ballot in New Hampshire, he won overwhelmingly with turnout that even exceeded Obama 2012 turnout when Obama was on the ballot.”
She then added that, while the party will need to see what his results look like in South Carolina and other primaries, the New Hampshire results were still a good initial indicator for him. She said, “And so, there are quite a few indicators in his strength in New Hampshire. We will see what happens in South Carolina and, of course, when we get to important primaries like Michigan.”
Welker then asked AOC directly if Biden is the best option the Democrats currently have. AOC, responding in the affirmative, said that he is “the strongest nominee” that the Democrats could put forward. Explaining why, she explained what Biden’s priorities are and what he has promised to do if his party manages to win both houses of the legislature.
She told Welker, “I think we can certainly do more to be advancing our vision. And I believe that we have a strong vision that we can run on. You know I think – and – and for what it’s worth, the president has said, ‘If you give me the House, and if you give me the Senate and reelect me to the presidency, we will codify abortion rights and the right to choose in this country. We’ll codify reproductive rights.’ I think we can do more.”
Continuing, AOC remained focused on the healthcare issue, though she moved from abortion to Medicare expansion, saying, “I think we – I think we need to be talking more about health care. Of course, me as a progressive, I want to see the age of Medicare drop, whether it’s to 50, as the president has discussed earlier, or to zero, as is my preference, to extend Medicare to all people in the United States of America.”
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Then, turning from medical handouts to education handouts, AOC said she wants to reduce or make free public institutions of higher learning, saying, “But I believe that we can be doing more. We can talk even more about the fact that public colleges and universities should be tuition free or reduced.”
Watch her here: