The informal leader of left-wing "Squad" has a warning for Kamala Harris as she brings hawkish Republican Liz Cheney to campaign in states with large Arab populations impacted by the Bush administration's War on Terror.
While defending Harris on CNN, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-Ny.) conceded that "plenty of people" are unhappy that Cheney and Harris are working together.
“I think there’s plenty of people that aren’t happy about that, and I think that is part of the nature of putting together a coalition,” Ocasio-Cortez told CNN News Central host Kate Bolduan.
Cheney and her father, former vice president Dick Cheney, have both endorsed Harris in her matchup with President Trump.
Harris has embraced Liz Cheney to appeal to disaffected Republicans, but not everyone is convinced it's a good strategy. Cheney's influence in the GOP is minimal - she was kicked out of Congress by primary voters turned off by her anti-Trump activism - and some believe she could actually drag Harris down with progressives and Arabs.
During one recent event, Harris called Cheney a "true patriot" for opposing Trump. Ocasio-Cortez admitted that she has mixed feelings about Cheney's involvement with the Harris campaign.
"I don't love it, but that doesn't mean that we aren't on the same team and we aren't on the same page when it comes to who is unequivocally the better candidate in order to win the presidential election," she added.
Trump blasted Cheney as a "Muslim-hating warmonger" at a rally in Michigan last weekend, invoking the role of her father, Dick Cheney, in the Bush administration's invasion of Iraq. Trump has long argued the Iraq War was a mistake.
"Kamala is campaigning with Muslim-hating warmonger, Liz Cheney, who wants to invade practically every Muslim country on the planet. And let me tell you the Muslims of our country, they see it, and they know it,” Trump said in Novi.
Trump was joined by local Muslim leaders who endorsed him over his non-interventionist policies.
Harris has faced backlash from progressives and Arabs over the Biden administration's backing of Israel's war in Gaza. Criticism of the war has been a prominent theme among members of the so-called Squad, including Ocasio-Cortez.
While Harris emphasizes her ties to Cheney, some, including leftist Bernie Sanders, argue she is targeting the wrong voters.
"The truth of the matter is that there are a hell of a lot more working-class people who could vote for Kamala Harris than there are conservative Republicans,” he said, according to the AP.
