After some confusion about Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's speech at the Democratic National Convention last night, the congresswoman took to Twitter to clear things up and congratulate the nominee Joe Biden.
During her 60-second speech, Ocasio-Cortez highlighted the progressive platform put forth by the Bernie Sanders campaign (which she was a part of) calling it "a movement that realized the unsustainable brutality of an economy that rewards explosive inequalities of wealth for the few at the expense of long-term stability for the many."
At the end of the speech, she seconded the nomination for Sanders, which she was asked to do by the DNC as part of the roll call. "In a time when millions of people in the United States are looking for deep systemic solutions to our crisis of mass evictions, unemployment, and lack of health care — and out of a love for all people, I hereby second the nomination of Sen. Bernard Sanders of Vermont for president of the United States of America,” she said.
Even though she did exactly what she was asked, unfortunately, that wasn't clear to people who are watching the now-virtual convention for the first time and many had questions about why she didn't use her time to talk about Joe Biden. On Twitter, she explained her speech writing, "If you were confused, no worries! Convention rules require roll call & nominations for every candidate that passes the delegate threshold. I was asked to 2nd the nom for Sen. Sanders for roll call."
After more prodding and some very misleading headlines, she clarified her position even further, taking a moment to congratulate Joe Biden on his nomination. "Congratulations, @JoeBiden – I deeply look forward to fighting for our future together and reclaiming our democracy in November," she wrote. "Thank you @DemConvention for having me deliver Sen. Sanders’ roll call nomination speech. It’s been an absolute honor."
The convention is a four-night event featuring speeches from political figures, celebrities, and activists from all around the country. While many are there to talk about Biden's accomplishments, the addition of Ocasio-Cortez seemed to highlight a different, significantly more progressive side of the party, one that will have to be a part of a Biden presidency if that happens in 2021.
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