Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Sen. Bernie Sanders took part in a CNN town hall Wednesday night where AOC was asked if Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer should worry about a primary challenge from her.
Ocasio-Cortez and Sanders immediately pushed back on the question, raising their voices as they criticized its premise. "I mean, no, because I don't think this is about anything… This is what we're talking about!" Ocasio-Cortez exclaimed.
As she began her answer, Sanders jumped in. "Let me jump in on this one," he said. "That's exactly what we're talking… we have a country that is falling apart!"
"We had a housing crisis, a health care crisis, an education crisis, massive income and wealth inequality, corrupt campaign finances, and the media says, ‘Are you going to run? What are you going to run for?’ Nobody cares!" Sanders added.
CNN's Kaitlan Collins noted that Vice President JD Vance and President Donald Trump recently questioned whether Ocasio-Cortez might challenge Schumer in 2026. Sanders fired back, saying Vance and Trump are trying to "deflect attention away from the real issues."
"We're living in the richest country in the history of the world, right?" Sanders said. "All right, you tell me why we're the only nation not to guarantee health care to all people. The only nation not to guarantee paid family and medical leave, why we have a $7.25 an hour minimum wage, why we have 800,000 people sleeping out on the street."
"Let’s talk about that issue — not her political future. She’ll decide that," Sanders said.
This isn’t the first time Ocasio-Cortez’s ambitions have been questioned amid tension within her party. Earlier this month, she told Republicans on MSNBC, "My office is open, and you are free to walk in and negotiate with me directly," sparking new speculation.
Following those remarks, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi clashed with a reporter who asked if Republicans should negotiate with Ocasio-Cortez to end the shutdown. "Why are you saying such a ridiculous thing?" Pelosi snapped. "She’s wonderful, she’s a real team player, and the rest of that. You started by saying Republicans say that she’s directing this. She is not, Hakeem Jeffries is."