Socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) panicked on Tuesday night in response to Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden having a strong night in the Democratic primary race, saying that she is “overall, 100%, legitimately” concerned about the climate.
Ocasio-Cortez, who backed socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), made the remarks late during an Instagram Live video after results poured in from the six states that held presidential nomination contests.
Biden blew out Sanders in Idaho, Michigan, Mississippi, and Missouri. The two other contests — Washington and North Dakota — were slightly leaning towards Sanders and were too close to call.
“One thing that I do, that I am concerned about, um, overall, 100%, legitimately, is in our climate,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “And I’m legitimately concerned about, uh, fossil fuels. I’m legitimately concerned about what this means for a just transition. I’m legitimately concerned about what this means for carbon emissions.”
“And we’re going to have to organize a lot — there are many, many issues where people’s lives are on the line,” Ocasio-Cortez continued. “Whether it’s pursuing decarceral policy, whether it’s making sure that we have humanity at our border, whether it’s, you know, making sure that women have access to reproduct — not just women, all people, have access to reproductive health care. All of these things are life and death issues but, the scale and the feedback and the irreversible nature of climate change is something that I think we need to really pay a lot of close attention to and that’s something that is really top of mind whenever I think about any election, particularly one as decisive as a presidential election.”
“So, you know, those — a lot of what we need to focus on, as always as we have always has as we have always needed to focus on are the issues,” Ocasio-Cortez rambled. “And that’s something that the good news that we have tonight is that’s one area where we are winning.”
WATCH:
Ocasio-Cortez on Joe Biden winning: “Um, one thing that I do, that I am concerned about, um, overall, 100%, legitimately, is in our climate. And, um, I’m legitimately concerned about, uh, fossil fuels. I’m legitimately concerned about what this means for a just transition.” pic.twitter.com/jJvkX9PKrl
— Ryan Saavedra (@RealSaavedra) March 11, 2020
About 30 minutes later, Ocasio-Cortez went on a rant accusing people of being racist if they were not eating at Chinese and Asian restaurants if they were worried about the coronavirus.
“Honestly, it sounds almost so silly to say, but there’s a lot of restaurants that are feeling the pain of racism,” Ocasio-Cortez said during an Instagram Live video. “Where people are literally not patroning Chinese restaurants, uh, they’re not patroning Asian restaurants because of just straight up racism around the coronavirus.”
Top Democrats rallied around Biden after his sound beat back of Sanders, with some going as far as saying that the remaining primaries and debates should be canceled to protect Biden.
House Majority Whip Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC) told NPR, “I think when the night is over, Joe Biden will be the prohibitive favorite to win the Democratic nomination, and quite frankly, if the night ends the way it has begun, I think it is time for us to shut this primary down, it is time for us to cancel the rest of these debates — because you don’t do anything but get yourself in trouble if you continue in this contest when it’s obvious that the numbers will not shake out for you.”
Clyburn later added that as the process continues to drag on that Biden will get “himself into trouble” and will say something that he “cannot overcome.”