Following her upset victory in the Democratic primary earlier this year, the soon-to-be Congresswoman representing New York's 14th district—Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez—has quickly become a darling of the Democrats and one of the most notable faces of the progressive movement. A former bartender and the youngest person ever elected to congress, Ocasio-Cortez has championed economic reform and used her voice to bolster the working class.
So it's no wonder many Republican naysayers have tried to foster doubt about her intentions at every turn.
Earlier on Thursday, Conservative reporter Eddie Scarry did so in a tweet, which he later deleted (screenshot is below).
People were quick to mock Scarry for his ill-advised tweet.
And even Ocasio-Cortez herself clapped back dropping a bit of truth on ole Eddie.
Hours after posting the tweet, he deleted it with the following disclaimer:
To which Ocasio-Cortez responded:
Scarry's attempt at "owning" Ocasio-Cortez is not an isolated incident. The American Right has repeatedly tried to cast doubt over Ocasio-Cortez's working-class background.
Shortly after her primary victory, conservatives criticized her for saying she grew up in the Bronx when she'd moved to Westchester for a better education at around five years old. They failed to mention that she moved back to the Bronx after completing her education and the work she and her family put in to stay there. Ocasio Cortez pulled no punches in a Twitter response.
With Scarry's most recent tweet, Americans began asking why so many on the Right are obsessed with defaming Ocasio Cortez.
Soon, users were less concerned with defending Ocasio-Cortez and brought the reads to Scarry himself.
When it came to criticizing Scarry, there was a lot to unpack: The creepy picture, the ridiculousness of the tweet, the outfit in Scarry's profile picture, and more.
Others shared stories of how they afforded their own professional outfits that defied assumptions like Scarry's.
The amount of replies condemning Scarry soon became so overwhelming, people were only replying "for the ratio."
Unfortunately, Scarry has demonstrated the same lack of self awareness that led to this tweet in his subsequent replies.
He later deleted the tweet before amending it with a spin that left Twitter reeling:
While Scarry may not have learned anything, he did demonstrate something important. When it comes to rising stars like Ocasio-Cortez, Scarry and other Republicans are scared.
UPDATE: This post was updated from its original form to include the screenshot of the deleted tweet as well as Scarry's response.
