Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has criticized Republicans who refer to her by her nickname instead of her formal title. The Democrat, who represents New York's 14th congressional district, said the practice disrespected women generally.
Ocasio-Cortez is popularly known as "AOC" and her political opponents have adopted the short form in much of their criticism of her. President Donald Trump referred to her as AOC twice during the final presidential debate on Thursday night.
"I wonder if Republicans understand how much they advertise their disrespect of women in debates when they consistently call women members of Congress by nicknames or first names while using titles & last names when referring to men of = stature," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted.
"Women notice. It conveys a lot.
"AOC is a name given to me by community & the people. Y'all can call me AOC," she went on in another tweet, addressing her followers.
"Government colleagues referring to each other in a public or professional context (aka who don't know me like that) should refer to their peers as 'Congresswoman,' 'Representative,' etc. Basic respect 101."
During the debate with former Vice President Joe Biden, Trump used Ocasio-Cortez's nickname while criticizing Biden's climate change plan. He also referred to members of the progressive Democratic "Squad".
"If you look at what he wants to do, if you look at his plan [...] his environmental plan, do you know who developed it? AOC plus three, they know nothing about the climate. I mean, she's got a good line of stuff, but she knows nothing about the climate and they're all hopping through hoops for AOC plus three," Trump said.
"Plus three" refers to three Democratic congresswomen—Ayanna Pressley, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib—who comprise the Squad with Ocasio-Cortez.
AOC is a name given to me by community & the people. Y’all can call me AOC.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) October 23, 2020
Government colleagues referring to each other in a public or professional context (aka who don’t know me like that) should refer to their peers as “Congresswoman,” “Representative,”etc. Basic respect 101
Ocasio-Cortez responded to the president on Twitter. She had previously live tweeted the first debate on September 30. The congresswoman pointed out that her climate change plan had much more support than Trump suggested.
"It's actually AOC plus 115 because that's how many House and Senate members have cosponsored the most ambitious climate legislation in American history," she wrote.
"I am so deeply proud of & grateful for each + every one of my House and Senate colleagues who stand for our future & champion the #GreenNewDeal, the boldest climate plan in US history.
"If someone told me 3 years ago, while I was waitressing to help my family stay afloat, that in a few short years an unhinged President of the United States would be repeatedly saying my name at the 2020 debate, I would've brought them some water and told them to sober up," she said.
