AOC Slams Republican Sen. Over Mockery Of Her Bartending Work: 'Makes Me 1000x More Qualified To Govern On Behalf Of Working People'

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez slammed Republican Senator John Kennedy after he mocked the fact that she worked as a bartender earlier in her life.

Kennedy made the swipe at the Democratic lawmaker during an interview with Fox News, saying she is "kind of like Vice President Kamala Harris, but with more bartending experience." He went on to say that she has "never been accused of being a policy maven."

AOC reacted on social media, saying "my having been a waitress makes me 1000x more qualified to govern on behalf of working people than whatever lifelong politician nonsense you've swung from your whole career."

"Why should working people vote for you if this is what you think of them?," she added.

My having been a waitress makes me 1000x more qualified to govern on behalf of working people than whatever lifelong politician nonsense you’ve swung from your whole career.

Why should working people vote for you if this is what you think of them? https://t.co/yNDyh92l6A — Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) February 22, 2026

She has also taken aim at other Republican figures who have mocked her response to a question about China and Taiwan during the Munich Security Conference earlier this month.

Back then, the lawmaker was asked whether the United States should commit troops to defend Taiwan if China invaded. She appeared to answer hesitantly after a near 20-second pause.

"This is, of course, a very long-standing policy of the United States, and I think what we are hoping for is that we want to make sure that we never get to that point, and we want to make sure that we are moving in all of our economic research and our global positions to avoid any such confrontation and for that question to even arise," she said.

President Donald Trump also weighed in, telling reporters that "her performance was horrible." "I was surprised, actually, I didn't know she was stupid," he added.

Trump explained how he would have dealt with that question had it been asked to him. "Well, I would have just said that it's none of your business right now because I wouldn't answer that question anyway. I wouldn't respond to a question like that. That's war when it comes to war, you don't talk about your strategy."

AOC also replied on social media. Answering to questions from followers, she addressed the matter after one said they wanted her to "understand foreign policy before ever running for president."

"If you think I don't understand foreign policy because out of hours of discourse about international affairs I pause to think about one of the most sensitive geopolitical issues that currently exist on Earth, I'm afraid the issue's not my understanding but rather the problem is perhaps you've gotten adjusted to a president that never thinks before he speaks and doesn't care about the implications of his words before he speaks on matters like these," AOC said.

"If you actually look at what trump said about this issue himself, he actually had the same if not a worse answer. So ask yourself why do you think the issues turn to that. Because there are very few people who are willing the foreign policy establishment that continues to send people to war and bankrupt our country for the rich," she added.