AOC's attempt to dismiss 'Woke 1' as 'crazy' draws criticism from left-leaning outlets
Even left-leaning and progressive media have begun to turn on Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., over her attempts to laugh off the extreme rhetoric of the "Woke 1" era.
On Tuesday, The Atlantic published an article titled "The Democrat Can't Just Laugh Off 'Woke 1,'" criticizing Ocasio-Cortez for shrugging off the past progressive beliefs she once championed as a "crazy" time.
"I have a local city councilman that has this saying, 'Woke 1 was crazy,'" Ocasio-Cortez said while laughing on ABC's "This Week." "And I think that what’s important is that we have to assess what a candidate is saying now."
AOC TRIES TO LAUGH OFF 'CRAZY' WOKE ERA AS THING OF THE PAST, BUT CONSERVATIVES AREN'T AMUSED
The Atlantic writer Idrees Kahloon wrote that Ocasio-Cortez was not the only Democratic candidate who has attempted to walk back or distance herself from extreme beliefs like defunding the police but warned that those attempts could backfire as socialists continue to gain power.
"All of these avoidance strategies could fail. Woke 1 may be over, but progressives have not given up their attempt to take over the Democratic Party apparatus," Kahloon wrote. "Candidates aligned with the Democratic Socialists of America — who have proved ascendant in primary elections this year — still take radical positions."
"Ideas never die, but they can go dormant," he continued. "The unwillingness to extirpate wokeness now may result in its resurgence later. The silence of conventional Democrats and the ascent of the DSA could make the party’s 2028 presidential-primary contest resemble the 2020 one."
"Then, candidates of all stripes competed to out-left one another, committing themselves to positions that caused their party electoral trouble for years," Kahloon continued. "Should Ocasio-Cortez become the Democratic candidate for president, she may experience that painful lesson firsthand."
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A Mother Jones report on Tuesday likewise viewed Ocasio-Cortez's comments as an attempt to appear more moderate for a 2028 presidential run and criticized her for "going backward" in terms of social reckoning.
"While this may be valuable in future elections, it raises the question of what it says to those who elected Ocasio-Cortez and are still confronting the struggle of the late 2010s and previous decades. One can win votes without laughing off progressive discussions. What if the rhetoric of six years ago evolved into a more widespread, substantial reckoning? In 2026, it’s not enough to repeat the same rhetoric — let alone signal toward going backward," the Mother Jones article read.
CNN reporter Aaron Blake described Ocasio-Cortez laughing off past political takes on Tuesday as "bad for our politics" if voters cannot trust what politicians believe.
"Implicit in these arguments is that maybe these politicians didn't believe what they said in real time — that they were just saying stuff. But the question then becomes: Does that also apply to what they're saying today?" he wrote.
"It would be better to reward politicians who have the foresight and wisdom to take positions that they actually believe in and can stick to — and can stand the political test of time," Blake added.
Though progressive outlet Vox largely defended Ocasio-Cortez's tonal shift, it also acknowledged that politicians like Ocasio-Cortez were "stepping back from things they used to say."
"The broad ideals — diversity, equity, a basic sense of fairness — still matter to Democratic voters. Criminal justice reform still has real purchase with the base. Minority and women candidates have kept winning since 2024, and even ideas like reparations still resonate with big chunks of the Democratic electorate. What’s changed isn’t who these candidates are — it’s what they choose to lead with," a Vox article read on Monday. "What has fallen out of favor is a way of talking."
In a comment to Fox News Digital, NewsBusters Executive Editor Tim Graham remarked that liberal outlets are likely criticizing Ocasio-Cortez for inadvertently ridiculing the goal of electing more Democrats.
"The liberal journalists who aren't accepting ‘Woke 1’ excuses are the ones who want the AOC wing of the Democrats to come to grips with how they will lose in red or purple states by taking cartoonishly extreme positions like defunding the police. That may work in deep-blue Queens, but not in Nebraska," Graham said.
"They're saying 'we agree on our shared goals, but we don't like your lingo or your rhetorical poses,'" he added. "You can't get away from it just by claiming it's now passe. It may have aged badly, but it never went away. Woke 1, if it was repealed, was repealed by [President Donald] Trump when he won in 2024 and set out to dismantle DEI ideology as it was installed in government-funded institutions."
Ocasio-Cortez previously faced intense backlash from conservative commentators and politicians for laughing off her past support for extreme rhetoric or policies.