Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., predicted that Vice President Kamala Harris will be the "first woman President of the United States" during a late-night appearance on Thursday, conspicuously leaning into identity politics.
Following the end of the Democratic National Convention, the progressive lawmaker went on CBS’ "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert" and played up how remarkable it is that Harris could become president.
"It's not science fiction anymore. We will have the first woman President of the United States in November," Ocasio-Cortez predicted to raucous applause.
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Playing up the drama in her declaration, the congresswoman talked about how she grew up only seeing depictions of female leadership in episodes of "Star Trek: Voyager" that she watched with her dad as a kid. But now that Harris has been nominated, that fantasy is one step closer to reality.
"My dad felt it very important for me to watch this because he wanted me to see an example of a woman in leadership, and when I was a kid the only example of that was in science fiction."
She continued, "And today represents a day where it has become our reality." The late-night show audience went wild at the prospect.
She also had a welcome interviewer in Colbert, a rabid Democratic supporter who even moderated a fundraiser for President Biden before he was forced off the 2024 ticket.
Colbert then asked the lawmaker about her statements earlier this year warning that the Democratic Party will not unite behind Harris if President Biden steps aside.
Reading her quote, he said, "’If you think that there is a consensus among the people who want Joe Biden to leave that they will support Vice President Harris, you will be mistaken."
The host then asked her, "Have you ever been happier to be wrong?"
She replied, repeating the word, "Ecstatic" several times.
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Colbert continued, "You didn’t think this would necessarily happen?" to which she said, "No, and I think it is important that this was not predestined, this was not predetermined."
"Vice President Harris earned this nomination through her grit, her politics, through every bit of hard work. But as we know, especially as women – particularly as women of color – you have to scrap every single moment until the very end. And she did that tonight," Ocasio-Cortez added.
Harris did not receive any votes from primary voters. Biden wrapped up the nomination months ago and insisted for weeks that he would not leave the ticket even after his disastrous debate perforance in June, but he eventually succumbed to pressure and stepped aside.
Colbert gushed over Biden for his decision to step aside for Harris, comparing it to George Washington stepping away from a third presidential term.
"I think similarly to George Washington, President Biden did this in order to not just establish, but preserve American democracy," Ocasio-Cortez said. "And I think it is one of the largest acts of political selflessness that we may see in our entire lives. And I he deserves an enormous amount of credit for the kind of character that it takes to do that."
