Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s latest remarks about the early era of woke politics have reopened a familiar fight, with conservatives accusing the New York Democrat of trying to distance herself from a movement she once embraced. In a Sunday morning interview, Ocasio-Cortez brushed off what she called “Woke 1,” a line that quickly drew fire from the right as speculation around a possible 2028 presidential bid continues to swirl.
The criticism came fast online. Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, said on X that a politician does not get to spend years pushing to reshape the country around race, diversity, equity and inclusion, then treat the result as a harmless misunderstanding once the public turns against it. Other conservative voices echoed that theme, arguing that supporters of woke politics are trying to rewrite what happened without taking responsibility for it. One account with more than 350,000 followers said Ocasio-Cortez and the far left once treated these issues as urgent and foundational, only to joke about them later. Conservative commentator Steve Guest also pointed to her as a leading figure in what he called the “Woke 1” push.
During the interview with ABC’s Jonathan Karl, Ocasio-Cortez was asked about radical comments made years ago by Francesca Hong, a Democratic socialist and Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate. Ocasio-Cortez answered with a grin that she had heard a local city councilman say, “Woke 1 was crazy,” and said the important thing was to judge what a candidate says now. Her tone and wording gave conservatives new material to argue that Democrats are trying to shrug off positions they spent years defending.
That argument has been sharpened by Ocasio-Cortez’s own past posts. In 2021, she wrote on social media that men can have periods, adding that trans men and non-binary people can also menstruate. She also said that some women do not menstruate for reasons including cancer treatment and hysterectomy, and accused Republicans upset by the post of protecting a patriarchal idea that women are only valuable as uterus holders. In a separate post, she said trans, two-spirit and non-binary people have always existed and always will, and added that critics could stay mad or grow up.
