Freshman Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez defended her ambitious, progressive policy proposals and sometimes combative presence on social media as risky but worth it, saying it is "great" to be underestimated by her opponents.
In a wide-ranging interview with CBS' "60 Minutes" that aired Sunday night, the youngest woman ever to be sworn into Congress stayed true to form by declaring President Donald Trump a racist and tweaking fellow Democrats who call some of her proposals unrealistic.
The 29-year-old Bronx, New York, politician's appearance on the venerable news show capped a weekend in which she continued to burnish her standing as a key voice for a new and diverse generation on issues from income equality to climate change. Her come-from-nowhere 2018 Democratic primary win and 3.5 million combined followers on Twitter and Instagram have given the new lawmaker an electric presence in Washington.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.