CBS to Ocasio-Cortez on Sanders support: ‘As a woman of color, why back an old white guy?’

CBS News correspondent Nikole Killion asked Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) why as a woman of color she would “back an old white guy” during an interview that aired Monday.

The freshman congresswoman had announced she was endorsing Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) for president and appeared at a rally together on Saturday.

{mosads}“As a woman of color, why back an old white guy? And is this the future of the party?” asked Killion after Ocasio-Cortez spoke at the Sanders rally in Queens, N.Y.

“I’m actually very excited about this partnership because it shows what we have to do in our country is that we have to come together across race, across gender, across generation,” Ocasio-Cortez added, while sitting next to Sanders.

ICYMI @NikolenDC asked @aoc the money question after she endorsed @BernieSanders:
“As a woman of color, why back an old white guy?” https://t.co/0PMvc6acKq

— Weijia Jiang (@weijia) October 21, 2019

At another point of the joint interview, Killion asked Sanders if he was considering making the 30-year-old Ocasio-Cortez his running mate.

“I think I’m too young for that,” the congresswoman said in answering for Sanders.

“She answered the question,” an amused Sanders added.

The 30-year-old would not be eligible to become president until she turns 35, according to the Constitution. 

Ocasio-Cortez was an organizer for the 2016 Sanders presidential campaign before successfully running for Congress in New York’s 14th district by defeating Democratic incumbent Rep. Joe Crowley in a primary.