Maoist Faction of the DSA Claims Ocasio-Cortez too ‘Moderate’ to Run for President

Maoist Faction of the DSA Claims Ocasio-Cortez too ‘Moderate’ to Run for President

New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is too ‘moderate’ to run for president in 2028, according to the ‘Liberation Caucus’ within the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). This will be news to millions of Americans who see AOC as a figure of the radical left.

It should be noted that Ocasio-Cortez is still a member of the New York City chapter of the DSA. It’s also fascinating that so much of this debate is about Israel.

FOX News reports:

AOC blasted as too moderate by Maoist DSA faction as 2028 buzz grows

The Democratic Socialist of America (DSA) Liberation Caucus is rejecting Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., as a potential candidate for Democrats in the 2028 presidential election, arguing she is too far removed from the socialist agenda.

“Liberation condemns Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s continued retreat from socialist politics and rejects any effort to present her as the future presidential standard-bearer for DSA, or for the broader socialist movement,” the DSA Liberation Caucus wrote in the statement.

DSA slammed Ocasio-Cortez as an “opportunist” and condemned her vote to defend Israel’s right to exist and for not holding firm as an anti-Zionist.

“In short, it was determined that she had failed to meet conditions concerning Palestine solidarity,” the statement said.

After withdrawing a conditional endorsement of the “Squad” Democrat in 2024, DSA’s National Political Committee “determined” that Ocasio-Cortez hosted a public panel with an alleged Zionist organization — the Jewish Council for Public Affairs.

She was also trashed for joining a group of House Democrats to co-sign a statement — after voting against providing Israel with supplemental weapon funding — that voiced support for Israel’s right to have defensive systems.

The statement continued to attack her, pivoting to her recent remarks in an interview with ABC, where Ocasio-Cortez walked back on her support for the movement to defund the police and the language used around policing in 2020, calling the 2020 “Woke 1” era for progressives “crazyyyyy.”

More from the Washington Times:

The rejection comes as Ms. Ocasio-Cortez’s national profile continues to climb. She led the field of prospective 2028 Democratic contenders in a New Hampshire primary poll released in July, edging former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and running far ahead of former Vice President Kamala Harris.

DSA’s national leadership has been split over how — and how soon — to weigh in on a potential AOC bid. The organization’s National Political Committee voted down a proposal in July to let members decide on a 2028 endorsement through an all-member poll, leaving the matter to DSA’s existing convention process — a move Fox News reported could push any formal endorsement decision to the group’s national convention in August 2027. A committee member publicly disputed claims that the vote barred chapters from conducting their own polls.

The Liberation Caucus statement singled out the NYC chapter’s continued support for Ms. Ocasio-Cortez as evidence of “the rightist clique” shielding an elected official from accountability, adding that the chapter has floated splitting from the national DSA rather than cut ties with her.

I can’t help but think this is part of a broader strategy to rebrand AOC as a moderate.

Liberal FOX News contributor Jessica Tarlov began pushing the ‘moderate’ talking point earlier this month. Watch:

Jessica Tarlov claims AOC now is a "Moderate Dem" as compared to the "core DSA wing."

Scott Galloway agrees that this is a "fair point."

AOC is a member of NYC DSA.

The gaslighting levels coming in an attempt to rebrand AOC for 2028 are going to be stratospheric. pic.twitter.com/AYypbHSeZu

— Western Lensman (@WesternLensman) August 10, 2026

Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.