Conservatives online aren't willing to forgive and forget the destruction caused by woke activists over the past several years after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., flippantly cast aside the behavior as a thing of the past.
AOC, an original member of the so-called Squad of progressives elected to Congress in 2018, brushed off in a Sunday morning interview the first wave of 'woke,' which she helped champion.
"You don't get to spend years pushing to fundamentally transform the country, divide it on racial lines, inject DEI into every institution, and then try to brush it off as a minor misunderstanding when your worldview turns out to be extremely unpopular with the American people," said Rep. Brandon Gill, R-Texas, on X in response to her comments.
ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ SHRUGS OFF PAST 'DEFUND THE POLICE' COMMENTS, JOKING 'WOKE 1 WAS CRAZY'
ABC "This Week' host Jonathan Karl briefly pressed the congresswoman, who is a member of the New York chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), on radical comments made by fellow socialist and Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong in 2020 and 2021.
"I have a local city councilman that has this saying, 'Woke 1 was crazy,'" Ocasio-Cortez said while grinning. "And I think that what’s important is that we have to assess what a candidate is saying now."
But the political right isn't ready to extend an olive branch to proponents of woke-ness like AOC, no matter which version or iteration of the movement they are pushing.
"AOC and the far-left said these issues were existential just a couple of years ago. They said we needed to reorder our entire society and nation around them… " said one X account with more than 350,000 followers. "Now they are laughing it all off, admitting they got swept up and couldn’t think logically. You are not fit to lead."
"Never forget that AOC led Woke 1 charge," said conservative commentator Steve Guest.
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AOC's posts from that time period demonstrate as much, like several where she claimed men could have periods.
"Not just women! Trans men & non-binary people can also menstruate," she tweeted in 2021, earning 64,000 likes on the social media platform. "Some women also don't menstruate for many reasons, including surviving cancer that required a hysterectomy. GOP mad at this are protecting the patriarchal idea that women are most valuable as uterus holders."
In a follow-up post, she wrote: "Trans, two-spirit, and non-binary people have always existed and will always exist. People can stay mad about that if they want, or they can grow up."
"AOC is going to run for president in 2028. Now she’s saying Democrat policies in 2020 era — woke 1 she calls it — were all crazy," said Outkick founder Clay Travis. "Many of us remember being ripped for opposing all these insane policies. Now Dems want to pretend that era never happened."
There is speculation that the four-term congresswoman will throw her hat into the ring for the Democratic nomination for president during the 2028 election cycle. So far, however, she has dodged questions on the subject of her political future.
If she were to launch a bid, it's likely the party would push AOC to shift further towards center left if she wants to earn the backing — and the money that comes with it — of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) and the rest of the Democrat establishment.
"Democrats think they can brush this off without actually conceding anything. 'Wow man, those 2010s were crazy and 2020 was insane, wasn't it?' You don't get to laugh away the generational enemies you created," said commentator Christian Heiens.
"Does calling Woke 1 crazy mean you now oppose any of the ideological positions that Wokeism demanded of you? Of course not. They haven't changed their minds about anything," he continued. "These things have come to define the Left at this point. No Democrat can oppose them without losing their primary."
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Other online critics called for further explanation about what qualities of "Woke 1" Democrats like AOC now oppose that they once publicly supported.
"If you’re going to go with the line 'Woke 1 was crazy,' I think we need a bit fuller of an account of why you and these other politicians became crazy and what you all learned about how not to do it again," said Josh Barro, who bills himself as a political centrist.
Fox News Digital reached out to AOC's office for comment, but did not hear back at time of publication.
