Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez pushed back against criticism of her so-called ‘Bronx girl’ upbringing after a Republican lawmaker shared her yearbook photo from a prestigious suburban high school. “I’m proud of how I grew up and talk about it all the time,” AOC said X Friday.
On Tuesday, State Assemblyman Matt Slater joined the social media feud between AOC and President Donald Trump, following her call for Trump’s impeachment over his decision to authorize airstrikes on Iran without congressional consent. As online users began sharing photos of what was claimed to be her former home in Yorktown Heights—now reportedly worth over $500,000—Ocasio-Cortez responded to allegations that she grew up “privileged.”
AOC Responds with Fury
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“My mom cleaned houses and I helped. We cleaned tutors’ homes in exchange for SAT prep. Growing up between the Bronx and Yorktown deeply shaped my views of inequality & it’s a big reason I believe the things I do today!” she said.
However, the Democratic Congresswoman’s portrayal of herself as a “Bronx girl” has faced frequent skepticism, as many residents of Northern Westchester recall her as Sandy Cortez from Yorktown Heights.
“She’s embarrassing herself for doing everything possible to avoid saying she grew up in the suburbs instead of the Bronx,” state Assemblyman Matt Slater (R-Yorktown) said Sunday.
“She has said she visited extended family, she has said she commuted,” Slater said. “Now she’s in between. It’s clearly desperate attempts to protect the lie that she is from the Bronx.”
Ocasio-Cortez was born in the Bronx but relocated to Yorktown when she was five years old. She later graduated from Yorktown High School and went on to study at Boston University.
The recent confrontation earlier this week sparked a heated back-and-forth between AOC and Trump, during which the congresswoman seemed to reference her Bronx upbringing as a symbol of her resilience.
In the Line of Fire
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“The president’s disastrous decision to bomb Iran without authorization is a grave violation of the Constitution and Congressional War Powers,” she said on Saturday. “He has impulsively risked launching a war that may ensnare us for generations. It is absolutely and clearly grounds for impeachment.”
Trump swiftly fired back at the progressive lawmaker, calling her “one of the dumbest members of Congress,” prompting Ocasio-Cortez to fire back at the former president with a string of sharp tweets.
Trump then said that the liberal firebrand “can’t stand the concept of our country being successful again,” because members of her party “aren’t used to winning.”
