Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is opening up about a concern she says weighs “heavily” on her.
During an interview with GQ’s Wesley Lowery, the progressive firebrand addressed a wide range of topics, including her future.
Lowery writes that former presidential hopeful and secretary of State John Kerry, and current White House climate czar, told him that he believes the New York Congresswoman could be elected nationally.
“In America, anybody can grow up to be president,” Kerry said.
He added, “I do believe that.”
However, Lowery writes that Ocasio-Cortez “used to believe that” but no longer does.
“Sometimes little girls will say, ‘Oh, I want you to be president,’ or things like that,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
She added, “It’s very difficult for me to talk about because it provokes a lot of inner conflict in that I never want to tell a little girl what she can’t do. And I don’t want to tell young people what is not possible. I’ve never been in the business of doing that.”
AOC on talks about her future ambitions with a heavy comment: "Realistically, I can’t even tell you if I’m going to be alive in September. And that weighs very heavily on me."
— Ursula Perano (@UrsulaPerano) September 7, 2022
via @WesleyLowery https://t.co/PcgNfZIx8R
She went on, “I hold two contradictory things [in mind] at the same time. One is just the relentless belief that anything is possible. But at the same time, my experience here has given me a front-row seat to how deeply and unconsciously, as well as consciously, so many people in this country hate women.”
“And they hate women of color. People ask me questions about the future. And realistically, I can’t even tell you if I’m going to be alive in September. And that weighs very heavily on me,” the Congresswoman said.
Ocasio-Cortez also argued that misogyny “transcends political ideology: left, right, center” and that the “grip of patriarchy affects all of us, not just women; men.”
“Ideologically, there’s an extraordinary lack of self-awareness in so many places. And so those are two very conflicting things. I admit to sometimes believing that I live in a country that would never let that happen,” she added.
During a June interview with late-night host Stephen Colbert, Ocasio-Cortez was asked about potentially running for president in 2024.
“Listen, I think that we need to focus on keeping a democracy for anybody to be president in the next couple of years. And that’s my central focus is helping the people of this country right now,” she responded.
Colbert said, “So it’s possible.”
“I don’t know about all of that,” Ocasio-Cortez,” responded with a laugh.