Is anyone in the U.S. persuadable? An author talks to AOC and other ‘Persuaders’
AOC. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
In their new book, Persuaders, four female leaders of the resistance to Donald Trump offer a fresh take on what it means to be an American “leader.” AOC, Rep. Ilhan Omar, former state Sen. Abby Finkenauer, and former New York City mayor and Secretary of Transportation Ed Murray are among the many “persuaders” the book profiles.
In an interview with Vogue’s Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour, AOC revealed that she has been considering a run for president. At the time of the interview, she had not announced a run. AOC told Vogue that she was “open to another run as a woman to be president.”
“I would not rule anything out, and I hope, with the help of the people that I know, that I would get the opportunity to run in 2020,” AOC said.
AOC, who is not technically running, is the third-highest-ranking woman in Congress, just behind House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-MD). She is also the daughter of Vietnamese immigrants, and was elected in 2016 as the first woman to represent New York’s 14th congressional district.
But she isn’t your typical politician, AOC said. In their book, she and Rep. Finkenauer reveal that they were all motivated by their own form of feminism.
“Some people say you can do anything,” said AOC, “but I think if we’re going to have a country as good as America, we have to build a different kind of country.”
She added, “Our country is great in many ways, but we’ve gone too far with racism … And then we’ve gone too far with xenophobia.”
“I think we have to work on that,” she said.
But some of the most controversial aspects of AOC’s political beliefs have been her views against Israel. In September 2018, AOC said she believes the Israeli government should “not exist.”
AOC on