Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) drew backlash online from some supporters of Donald Trump on Sunday over her measured response to the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner.
“There is no place for political violence in our country,” the New York Democrat wrote on X, the platform owned by Elon Musk, as investigators reportedly pursue the line that the suspected shooter was politically motivated.
“I am relieved that the President and the attendees at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner last night are safe,” she added.
Despite the message, Ocasio-Cortez faced a wave of hostile online responses, with some users hurling insults and accusing her of hypocrisy for her past criticism of Trump, his administration and Republicans more broadly.
Others, however, pointed to the reaction itself as telling.
Longtime Republican strategist Sarah Longwell, the publisher of the center-right-leaning Bulwark website, defended the congresswoman, writing:
“This is a kind, responsible statement from an American politician. One the current President of the United States would never offer a political foe. (In fact he celebrates their deaths). And all the comments are just unhinged, vile attacks on her for what? Modeling decency?”
