It wasn’t long after the November election that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., turned on her own party — and it has sparked a public Democrat Civil War feud.
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.V., a conservative Democrat from West Virginia, got caught in the crossfire.
Remember the death stare photo?
https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1326969135826427906?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1326969135826427906%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fpolitics%2Faoc-joe-manchin-stare-moderate-dem-vows-to-block-crazy-socialist-agenda
Manchin was on the receiving end of the stare because he denounced the progressive wing’s’ “crazy socialist agenda” — and that was enough to provoke a social media attack from AOC that had Twitter in a frenzy.
On Monday, Manchin hit back.
The West Virginia senator conceded to the New York Times that Ocasio-Cortez “put the dagger stare on me,” but that didn’t stop him from getting brutally upfront about the agitating congresswoman.
“I’m understanding she’s not that active with her bills or in committee,” he explained. “She’s more active on Twitter than anything else.”
He’s not exactly wrong. A large part of her rise to political celebrity is thanks in part to her use of social media and her engagement with young, liberal followers.
In addition to Manchin’s harsh response, he also took some time to double-down on his previous comments that originally sparked the public rivalry: no to radical legislation.
“We’re not going to defund the police,” he said, “we’re not for the New Green Deal. That’s not going to happen. We’re not for Medicare for All — we can’t even pay for Medicare for some.”
Manchin also made some comments that perhaps give some crucial insight into the Democrats’ infighting.
“I don’t know the young lady,” he said. “I really don’t. I never met her.”
So not only are two of the most prominent Democratic congressional leaders feuding, they’re doing so from afar. If they’re not communicating themselves, they run the risk of letting the mainstream media drive the narrative, which may only inflame tensions much worse.
Just when it seemed that the Republicans were the only one’s infighting after the 2020 election, Democrats have managed a blowup of their own.
The Horn editorial team