Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) says in a new interview that there is a “hostage situation” in the Republican Party.
The freshman lawmaker and self-described democratic socialist told Rolling Stone that “a lot of Republicans” know they should speak out against President Trump, but don’t.
{mosads}“In the Republican Party, there’s a hostage situation going on,” she told the magazine. “There are a lot of Republicans that know what the right thing to do is — not just on impeachment but on a wide range of issues — and they refuse to speak up.”
Ocasio-Cortez called it “an unacceptable position” for GOP figures not to stand up to the president.
“We’re not in the realm of politics anymore,” she said. “These are not questions of politics. These are questions of society. These are questions of equal treatment. These are questions of civil rights.”
She also said that she would vote to impeach Trump “no question,” but acknowledged that some lawmakers “come from very tough districts where their constituents are torn” on their support for the president, making it difficult to easily commit to voting for impeachment.
She rejected the argument that some lawmakers have different intentions “behind closed doors” despite voting with Trump.
“If they vote the same way, what does it matter?” she said. “I don’t care what’s in your heart if how you are voting is the same as someone who is actually racist.
“I am tired of people saying, ‘I’m gonna vote the same way as bigots, but I don’t share the ideology of bigots.’ Well, you share the action and the agenda of bigots. We need to hold that accountable.”