In the most recent episode of Axios , the HBO documentary series that offers an “exciting lens into the topics reshaping the world in real time,” the CEO of the show’s eponymous owner, ?Jim VandeHei, said that Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the “Donald Trump of the Democratic Party.”
VandeHei pointed to the strong feelings Ocasio-Cortez creates in people — good or bad — and said that she has the ability tie together extremism and activism, which he says are two of the big strands in American politics.
The episode also focused on Steve Bannon, Trump’s former White House chief strategist, and his global effort to promote populism.
Ocasio-Cortez definitely doesn’t shy away from controversy. As The Inquisitr reported, she filed legislation on Friday that would remove a legal barrier currently hindering scientists that are trying to study psychedelic drugs like psilocybin. Research suggests that these drugs have the potential to treat ailments such as depression, although legal barriers make it difficult for clinical studies.
In an interview with The New York Post , Ocasio-Cortez said that these drugs must be available for medical consideration.
“There’s a lot of early promising research from Johns Hopkins [University] on the effect of using psilocybin research for treating our veterans with PTSD,” she added. “And right now, because of older provisions from the war on drugs, it’s preventing scientists from doing this medical research. So I’ve introduced an amendment to expand the research on these drugs.”
Axios CEO Jim VandeHei called AOC the “Donald Trump of the Democratic Party” tonight on ‘Axios on HBO.’ What crazy nonsense.
— Marlow Stern (@MarlowNYC) June 10, 2019
But the biggest political talking point that Ocasio-Cortez mentioned is her support of progressive policies such as single-payer Medicare for All, a federal job guarantee, gun-control policies, and tuition-free public college and trade school. Not only that, her age — just 29-years-old — has propelled an intense media focus on the young congresswoman.
As The Inquisitr reported, Ocasio-Cortez was recently featured in a video montage of America’s enemies alongside Fidel Castro and Kim Jong Un. The Fresno Grizzlies, an affiliate of the Washington Nationals, ran the video as a Memorial Day tribute to American values of freedom, suggesting that Ocasio-Cortez is an enemy to such values.
“’Based on their investigation, it is clear…this was an honest mistake by a long-time employee and was not politically motivated.” ?? – VP of comms for @Nationals
Video is outrageously irresponsible & slanderous and also a whitewashing of US history. https://t.co/E3kUKxUoO0
— Jeffrey Wright (@jfreewright) June 5, 2019
But the Grizzlies management released a subsequent statement suggesting they do not support the comparison. The statement also claimed that the video was approved by an employee that didn’t watch the entire video.
“We unconditionally apologize to Rep. Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) in addition to our fans, community and those we hurt. It was a mistake and we will ensure that nothing like it ever happens again.”
