Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) turned and ran away on Manhattan’s Fifth Avenue to avoid engaging with a potential Republican challenger as they were marching on Sunday in the National Puerto Rican Day Parade, according to her political opponent and a piece in The New York Post.
Rich Valdes, a radio producer for well-known conservative talk show host and author Mark Levin, currently lives in New Jersey.
He told The Post he tried to challenge the freshman Democratic lawmaker to a debate about capitalism vs. socialism when he spotted her near West 47th Street.
But Ocasio-Cortez “cut her handshaking short, jerked her hand back, and jetted to the other side of the street,” Valdes told The Post. “She literally ran!”
“I thought this was a good time to try and get a response but I honestly only saw the back of her head as she trotted across the street,” he also said.
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Guardian Angels founder and radio host Curtis Sliwa saw the incident and reported the same thing.
He saw Valdes approach the self-described Democrat socialist at about 12:30 p.m. “As soon as she saw him, she did a pirouette — a spin — and she ran north on Fifth Avenue, ahead of her delegation, just to get away from Rich,” said Sliwa, as The Post reported.
“I heard Rich yelling after her, ‘OK, AOC. You can run — but you can’t hide!’”
A spokesperson for Ocasio-Cortez denied that the lawmaker she ran away from Valdes.
At a meeting this past Thursday night, Valdes told Queens Village Republican Club members he would move from New Jersey to Ocasio-Cortez’s district — which covers parts of the Bronx and Queens — to try to unseat her.
Valdes also said her initials could stand for “All Out Crazy,” as Newsweek reported.
“AOC — All Out Crazy — wants to establish a new Soviet Republic,” Valdes told the gathering of about 100 people. “I believe in capitalism over socialism. Her misguided policies don’t represent the district,” as The Post reported.
Recently, some veterans walked out on Ocasio-Cortez when she slammed United States foreign policy during a private meeting last week with Bronx community leaders.
The military veterans had had it up to here with her anti-American verbiage — and decided to leave the meeting early.
“She knocks the country, she knocks the president. And that’s not what America is about,” said Silvio Mazzella, 74, a Vietnam War veteran, The Post reported.
The veterans’ rebuff of the Democrat lawmaker and her attacks on America occurred just ahead of the 75th anniversary on June 6 of D-Day, one of the most successful military invasions ever.
See more on this issue and others in the tweets below — and share your thoughts.
In the spirit of “todos juntos” I tried to politely introduce myself to @RepAOC at the Puerto Rican parade where we we both marching, hoping to invite her to debate the issues, but she ran away. ??♂️#NationalPuertoRicanDayParade #NYC ???? https://t.co/URvkoG4uUu
— Rich Valdes ?? (@RichValdes) June 9, 2019
Capitalism vs. socialism! https://t.co/r52v2t9NNL
— Rich Valdes ?? (@RichValdes) June 7, 2019
Can someone please explain to @AOC the meaning of a statute? pic.twitter.com/HtqfA6Vd6k
— Madison Gesiotto (@madisongesiotto) June 9, 2019
.@AOC Rep. Ocasio-Cortez wants to make it easier to study #magicmushrooms, other #psychedelic drugs https://t.co/TvBZWmQFLy
— Sara A. Carter (@SaraCarterDC) June 10, 2019
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