AOC's Republican Challenger Accused Her of 'Running Away' from Him During a Parade and Everyone's Pointing Out the Same Thing

A Conservative talk radio producer from New Jersey and potential challenger against Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is accusing the congresswoman of running away from him during New York City's annual Puerto Rico Day parade, according to the New York Post.

Rich Valdes spotted Ocasio-Cortez on 47th street and Fifth Avenue, shaking hands. He says she cut her handshaking short upon spotting him when he tried to debate her about the benefits of capitalism over socialism.

Ocasio-Cortez isn't known for backing down from any exchange of ideas, so people were skeptical of Valdes.

They also pointed out one important feature of parades that could be the culprit.

The whole story continued the trend of Republican men demanding that Ocasio-Cortez debate them.

An eyewitness set the record straight.

In an Instagram story posted before the Post published the story, Ocasio-Cortez explained why she'd been running through the parade.

@ocasio2018/Instagram

Ocasio-Cortez's post read:

"Papparazzi kept jumping the barricades and blocking our banner...It was getting so ridiculous that the parade goers couldn't see us, and I couldn't see and say hello to people! So I just busted out and started running, hoping to get some breathing room and say hi to people before they caught up!"

Valdes might want to focus on moving to New York rather than trying to pick a petty fight with AOC. He's fighting well above his weight.