RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 2 sourcesThe president’s comments came after AOC saw a surge in her predicted 2028 odds
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President Trump claims Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is looking to ditch her “woke” past as part of a 2028 presidential run.
"If you really look at it, they're all saying the same thing," Trump told Fox News on Friday. "They're all trying to disavow themselves from what they said about crime and, well, they're saying, ‘We love sanctuary cities.’"
"I think you're going to see sanctuary cities start to end, because sanctuary cities are a disaster. And somebody like her, she was big for sanctuary cities," Trump added. "They cause crime.”
The president also claimed progressive criminal justice policies such as ending cash bail worsened crime and let killers remain on the street.
Much of the president ’s comments were exaggerated or inaccurate.
Ocasio-Cortez has not ruled out a presidential run, though she recently told The Independent her focus is on more immediate political goals.
“I think my main focus is really genuinely just the midterms right now, and we have to make sure that we win this majority,” she said.
New York’s law ending cash bail applies to misdemeanors and nonviolent crimes, rather than murder.
There is no evidence showing a connection between bail reform and rising crime rates, according to the Brennan Center, and in fact it has been linked to a modest decline in recidivism in New York.
The New York congresswoman has defended sanctuary cities, however.
Last year, in a congressional hearing, she described them as a key bulwark against abuse by federal immigration agents, arguing they prevent “attacks on our constitutional rights from illegal search and seizure.”
“There is nothing preventing ICE from issuing a warrant and you having complete compliance,” she said of officials in sanctuary states like New York.
The president was right about one thing, however; AOC is definitely in the presidential conversation.
In recent days, she’s become the top predicted choice for the 2028 Democratic presidential nominee on prediction sites such as Kalshi and Polymarket.
Meanwhile, conventional political polls still put former Vice President Kamala Harris at the top spot, with California Governor Gavin Newsom in second and AOC in a distant fourth.
Ocasio-Cortez recently made headlines for detailing the process of freezing her eggs on social media and reflecting on the precarious state of women’s healthcare in America.
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