She has the potential to unify the left in 2028—if she addresses her decision in 2024 to carry water for people committing the most severe crime of the 21st century.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks on the first day of the Democratic National Convention (DNC) at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, on August 19, 2024.
(Kamil Krzaczynski / AFP via Getty Images)
The failure to field a genuine left-wing challenger to Joe Biden in the 2024 Democratic presidential primary was one of the greatest strategic missteps from the organized left in our lifetime. We did not have a positive, unifying vision for our movement going into an era-defining election. Instead, we set ourselves up to stumble blindly through an election between a rudderless, impotent Democratic administration unflinchingly supporting Israel’s genocide of Palestinians, and a Trump administration that promised to strip the copper wire out of our country on behalf of the capitalist class while terrorizing and deporting workers. With no viable alternatives, the organized left struggled to find its footing between impossible options. Some called for an outright boycott of the elections, while others tried to find ways to support Kamala Harris in hopes of preventing Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
Perhaps the highest-profile intervention from the pro-Harris wing of the left came when Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez spoke passionately in support of Harris at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The speech, which was rapturously received by the crowd, was a potent symbol of AOC’s newfound power within the party. But it also contained a moment that still haunts AOC to this day—her infamous and false declaration that Harris and Biden were “working tirelessly” to end the genocide in Gaza.
I wrote about my feelings of shock at the time, and I was not alone in having a strong reaction to AOC’s speech. While reasonable minds could (and did) disagree about the strategy of endorsing Harris, it was a betrayal for a politician widely seen as the standard-bearer for the democratic socialist bloc in Congress to lie to the public and claim that the very people perpetrating a genocide were actually “working tirelessly” to stop it.
To this day, this is probably the single biggest black mark on AOC’s otherwise solid record on Palestine. According to IMEU, she is rated among the highest in Congress in taking positive actions for Palestinian rights, making her choice to carry water for Biden/Harris in this way even more baffling. And, amid increasing hype for a potential AOC presidential run in 2028, it is a moment that has proven very difficult for many on the left to forgive. AOC has never addressed or apologized for her decision to cover for the pro-genocide wing of her party. For her sake, and for the sake of the left’s political future, she needs to do both.
I am one of the many people who hope that AOC will run and win in 2028, but it does not do anyone, including her, any favors to sweep this lingering sense of betrayal under the rug. One of the reasons she matters to us so much is that when she speaks, people—including, crucially, people beyond the left’s current base—listen. The reason they listen is that AOC is willing to speak truth to power and be a firebrand on behalf of working people. But in her DNC speech, she weakened that connection by carrying water for the people committing the most severe crime of the 21st century.
With the 2028 election coming up, it is urgent that AOC make this right. Palestine is the defining issue of our time, particularly within the Democratic Party. It is the principal dividing line between Democratic primary candidates in this year’s midterms, and there is no reason to expect its importance to wane in 2028. There is no path for a left-wing contender in the Democratic primary without moral clarity with respect to Palestinian liberation, and she can and will lose her ability to marshal the support she needs if she does not keep pace with the people who have made her the icon that she is.
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Young people are overwhelmingly sympathetic to Palestinians and want to see accountability for the genocide they have witnessed while powerless to intervene. And for the first time in history, Democrats writ large are more sympathetic to Palestinians than Israelis. The public also understands that the Democratic Party has thus far largely aided and abetted Israel’s crimes. It is, therefore, absolutely critical that AOC repair her bond with the anti-Zionist left.
With American sympathies swinging so dramatically toward Palestinians, a strong relationship with the broad-based movement that has organized to create that shift has the potential to propel her to victory. If she does not address these comments, they will instead remain an open sore, setting her otherwise potentially historic campaign back unnecessarily.
No leftist presidential candidate, even AOC, will succeed without a highly energized anti-Zionist movement behind them. Whether it’s Muslim voters in swing states, young people who have a mistrust of mainstream politics altogether, or DSA organizers across the country who have shown a talent and level of ferociousness in electing anti-Zionist socialist politicians at levels not seen in a century, there is a base hungry for clarity on this issue, and hungry for a candidate that can speak to their sense of urgency.
Just this week, New York City DSA, continuing its win streak following the election of Zohran Mamdani last year, delivered a massive blow to the Israel lobby by channeling popular anger about the US relationship with Israel into two congressional and several state-level races (including the campaign of Aber Kawas, who will be the first Palestinian in history to serve in the New York State Legislature). In one race, Assemblymember Claire Valdez and DSA defeated Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and the Working Families Party, in no small part due to the fact that he was seen as insufficiently trustworthy on this issue because it took him over 2 years to refer to Israel’s actions in Gaza as a genocide. In another, Darializa Avila Chevalier ousted Adriano Espaillat, a 5-term representative who has consistently taken large sums of money from AIPAC and traveled to Israel with Hakeem Jeffries and Ritchie Torres.
These results show that Democratic voters are practically kicking the door down to demand new leadership that responds to the outrage of an agitated base. Democratic socialists like Claire Valdez, Darializa Avila Chevalier, as well as Chris Rabb in Philadelphia and Janeese Lewis George in Washington DC winning convincing victories, and in some cases knocking out powerful opponents explicitly supporting Palestinian liberation, should be a clear sign that the horizons of working-class internationalist politics have significantly expanded. There is an opportunity for a unifying national leader to seize on this.
AOC also can’t take for granted that voters will have nowhere else to go. The presidential primary field will be full of Democrats who, even though their record on Israel is worse than AOC’s, will still attempt to capture the outrage of Democratic primary voters. Many Democrats have already decided to criticize the Netanyahu government and refuse AIPAC money. While this represents a significant shift in the rhetoric of a Democratic establishment that has been otherwise totally unwilling to criticize Israel, it remains insufficient in the face of ongoing genocide..
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Senator Chris Van Hollen, for instance, has stepped forward as a presidential contender who has shown a willingness to criticize the relationship with Israel. Van Hollen’s rhetoric is appreciated, but he has also voted to send aid to Israel repeatedly, including funding so-called defensive weaponry like Iron Dome. He is an early example of what to expect in 2028. Politicians who have risen to the level of legitimate contenders for the presidency will have enough political instincts to be able to know that full-throated support for Israel will be a nonstarter for most Democratic voters, and they will start testing new positions. AOC needs to have the confidence and the base support to differentiate herself from the opportunistic pack, to show that her record and her positions reflect the growing flank and not the cynical median.
To her credit, AOC has already taken many steps towards this. She was an early signatory to the Gaza ceasefire coalition. She has been a longtime supporter of the Block The Bombs Act, and she has never voted for military aid to Israel. Recently, when seeking re-endorsement from NYC-DSA, she committed to opposing all military aid to Israel, including defensive weapons, reversing her previous indications of support for Iron Dome funding. These are all excellent developments and should excite anyone who is hoping to see AOC run for president in 2028. She should seize this momentum, ease the lingering tensions from her 2024 speech, and tie herself as closely to the pro-Palestine movement as she can, setting herself apart as a clear leader on this issue going into the presidential cycle.
Perhaps most importantly, the 2028 election is an existential moment for the United States. Not in the trite truism of “this is the most important election of our lifetimes,” though it is, but because the social fabric of America has frayed so significantly that it cannot hold any longer without significant leadership. This election will yield a future that is entirely distinct from the status quo; whether that is democratic socialism and a Green New Deal or the total collapse of the American political system into fascism is yet to be seen. The Republican Party is all but totally broadcasting that it intends to steal the 2028 presidential election. It will take an energized, politically engaged public to stop this illegal seizure of power. This energy will come from people who believe they are fighting for their lives and that the future of the world can be changed through their intervention.
AOC is the only person who has the potential to lead that movement. She is the only one that can channel the popular anger and energy into a movement that fundamentally remakes this country. But she needs to take definitive steps to realize this goal. She is off to a good start, but only by addressing her past comments can she seize this energy and become the uniting force for the left.
With the midterm elections now firmly upon us, the question is whether Democratic candidates will do more than merely occupy ballot lines as mild alternatives to the red-hot crisis that is Donald Trump.
As Trump spends over $1 billion a day on a globally destabilizing war on Iran and admits that he doesn’t “think about Americans’ financial situation,” millions across the country are struggling with the surging costs of essentials. Democrats must seize this moment and advance bold, small-“d” populist ideas—not settle for cynical caution that once again snatches defeat from the jaws of victory.
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Onward,
Katrina vanden Heuvel
Editor and Publisher, The Nation
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