Taking the stage after United Auto Workers president Shawn Fain denounced Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump as a "scab," U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez made even clearer that the Democratic Party is unapologetically centering issues affecting working Americans ahead of the November elections.
The New York Democrat's speech—given just six years after she stunned the party establishment by ousting high-ranking corporate-friendly Rep. Joe Crowley—represented a shift away from a Democratic strategy that has leaned heavily on appealing to centrist voters and painting progressives like Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) as radicals, suggested some observers.
"Democrats giving AOC a primetime speaking slot at Democratic National Convention means they are finally embracing progressives and acknowledging this is part and parcel of their base and future," said journalist Wajahat Ali, noting that Ocasio-Cortez was given just 90 seconds to speak at the 2020 convention.
Ocasio-Cortez began with the story of her unexpected rise from restaurant worker to federal lawmaker, sharing that when she won her 2018 election she was one of tens of millions of Americans who were uninsured, "taking omelette orders as a waitress in New York City" while her family struggled to pay bills.
"Like millions of Americans, we were just looking for an honest shake," said the congresswoman. "And we were tired of a cynical politics that seemed blind to the realities of working people."
Those "cynical politics" are still centered by Republican politicians, Ocasio-Cortez said, who frequently attack her "by saying that I should go back to bartending."
"But let me tell you, I'm happy to, any day of the week," she said. "There is nothing wrong with working for a living."
Ocasio-Cortez told the delegates assembled at the United Center in Chicago and viewers at home that the candidacy of Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, present American voters with "a rare and precious opportunity."
"In Kamala Harris, we have a chance to elect a president who is for the middle class because she is from the middle class," said the congresswoman. "She understands the urgency of rent checks and groceries and prescriptions. She is as committed to our reproductive and civil rights as she is to taking on corporate greed."
Watch Ocasio-Cortez's speech below:
Ocasio-Cortez's speech came days after Harris introduced a far-reaching economic agenda including an expanded child tax credit, a federal ban on price-gouging in the grocery and food industries, and medical debt relief. On Sunday, Harris rejected a reporter's question about how she would pay for the policies, saying policymakers should focus on the "return on investment" that would come from pulling children out of poverty and ensuring people can pay for essentials.
New York City Council member Chi Ossé said in response to Ocasio-Cortez's speech Monday night that it was "phenomenal to watch an un-bought politician who holds populist, working-class values hold center stage at the DNC" and noted that the lawmaker was greeted by "the entire room chanting" her commonly-used nickname, AOC.
Progressive strategist Waleed Shahid added that he had "never imagined" seeing two grassroots leaders who had challenged their own institutions—Ocasio-Cortez and Fain—being invited to introduce the Democratic presidential nominee.
Elevating outspoken progressive leaders was a smart strategic decision by party leaders, said Evan Sutton of Firekit Campaigns, a former communications director for the American Federation of Teachers.
Like Fain, Ocasio-Cortez took direct aim at Trump, slamming him as "a two-bit union buster [who] thinks of himself as more of a patriot than the woman who fights every single day to lift working people out from under the boots of greed, trampling on our way of life."
"We know that Donald Trump would sell this country for a dollar if it meant lining his pockets and greasing the palms of his Wall Street friends," she said. "The truth is, Don, you cannot love this country if you only fight for the wealthy and big business."
"To love this country is to fight for its people, all people, working people, everyday Americans like bartenders, and factory workers, and fast food cashiers who punch a clock and are on their feet all day, doing some of the toughest jobs out there," Ocasio-Cortez added. "Imagine having leaders in the White House who understand them, leaders like Kamala and Tim."
The congresswoman's brief mention of Israel's U.S.-funded assault on Gaza—which a majority of Democratic voters view as genocide, according to a Data for Progress poll released in May—received applause as she said Harris is "working tirelessly to secure a cease-fire in Gaza."
But some asked where the evidence of such work can be found, as Israel continues to bombard schools and other civilian infrastructure in the enclave, which U.N. experts warned last month has been pushed into famine by Israel's continued blocking of humanitarian aid.
"I understand the political value of AOC getting thunderous applause for cease-fire in Gaza—the fact that the party really wants it COULD pressure Harris—but, so we are clear, Harris is not working tirelessly for cease-fire," said author and podcast host Kate Willett. "That would involve cutting off weapons."
