Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Monday said she went to the annual Munich Security Conference “not because I’m running for president,” amid speculation that she could pursue the 2028 Democratic nomination. Ocasio-Cortez, while speaking on the phone with The New York Times, recalled a reporter asking her if Munich is “‘the new New Hampshire?’ And…
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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Monday said she went to the annual Munich Security Conference “not because I’m running for president,” amid speculation that she could pursue the 2028 Democratic nomination.
Ocasio-Cortez, while speaking on the phone with The New York Times, recalled a reporter asking her if Munich is “‘the new New Hampshire?’ And I cannot say enough how out of touch and missing the point, genuinely, that is.”
She said she went to the conference “not because I’m running for president, not because I’ve made some kind of decision about a horse race or a candidacy, but because we need to sound the alarm bells that a lot of those folks in nicely pressed suits in that room will not be there much longer if we do not do something about the runaway inequality that is fueling far-right populist movements.”
The New York Democrat praised her meetings with European leaders, saying she was “pleasantly surprised” by the reception she received. Former Irish President Mary Robinson said Ocasio-Cortez’s presence at the conference offered a fresh voice and left-wing views appealing to Europeans.
“I’m not sure America’s ready for that yet,” Robinson told the Times. “But maybe it is.”
Ocasio-Cortez said present working-class interests are undermined by movements fueled by various right-wing leaders, including Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Argentinian President Javier Milei and former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
“Everyone’s got this story wrong, that this is about me running for president,” she said. “I could give — whatever, about that, to be honest. The story is less about the opponents being some hypothetical primary. To me, my opponents are the network that links Orban, Trump, Milei, Bolsonaro, all of these folks.”
“If I were running,” she later said, “if I had made a decision or anything about being president, or Senate, or anything like that — frankly, I say this all the time: Am I acting like someone who is trying to run? No! Because I’m there for a very different, specific purpose.”
Reception toward Ocasio-Cortez’s trip to Munich was mixed, with most of the criticism being pointed at the foreign issues she discussed. This included what the U.S. should do if China invades Taiwan and Venezuela’s placement near the equator.
She also defended her use of “genocide” to describe Israel’s bombardment of and cessation of humanitarian aid into Gaza. This came after she was criticized for backing former Vice President Kamala Harris for president in 2024, while critics politically aligned with Ocasio-Cortez accused the Biden administration of war crimes in supporting Israel.
Other possible 2028 contenders for the Democratic nomination were in Munich, including Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) and California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). Both attended the conference to rail against President Trump, with Newsom saying he wanted to assure European leaders that “Trump is temporary.”
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