Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is very concerned that folks aren’t as afraid to support Trump publicly as they were in days past.
Apparently, the effects of the “Orange Man Bad” messaging have worn off.
During an appearance on “The Weekly Show” with host Jon Stewart, Ocasio-Cortez lamented the fact that Trump is no longer seen as a toxic figure – especially among high-profile Americans.
Stewart pointed out how many on the left created “apocalyptic messaging about a fascist literally coming over and doing these things, then when he wins, sitting down with watercress sandwiches and cream cheese and doing the whole nine yards.”
He added: “It makes you wonder, ‘Well, did you believe any of the sh*t you were saying before, or was that…just a part of your messaging?”
AOC agreed, saying, “what makes this go-around with Trump so much more dangerous than the first time around is exactly what you’re saying. It’s that he is much more normalized this time around than he was the first time.”
The first time people were really on edge. They were on guard. They were very vigilant about any break that he would have with these norms. This time, the norms are becoming him. The norms are embracing him. Even these little things that everyday working people may not care about, but they are strong cultural signals. [Fashion designer] Oscar de la Renta, like dressing all of the women. There's all these cultural symbols, right?
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The lawmaker ranted on, saying, “So, all of these people that were scared before about being associated with him from the most common basic level to the most elite level, they're all in now because this is now a billionaire feeding frenzy. It is a kiss-a** race. It is how I show how much fealty I have to Donald Trump in order to get my digs.”
Ocasio-Cortez complained that people do not see that they are “being ripped off” and that Trump is “just the quintessential New York conman.”
AOC is a bit miffed that high-profile Americans are no longer afraid to associate with Donald Trump.
— Jeff Charles, The Nullifier🏴 (@jeffcharlesjr) January 24, 2025
"He is much more normalized this time around than he was the first time." pic.twitter.com/mum9icmPEm
Well, perhaps if Democrats hadn’t spent the past decade pretending Trump was the second coming of Adolf Hitler working to usher in the Fourth Reich, maybe the public might have taken them seriously. If you’re going to call someone a fascist for years, then the person has to actually govern like a fascist for these attacks to work.
The problem for them is that Trump is not a Nazi or a fascist – and people have woken up to the reality that the Democrats and their close friends and allies in the establishment media were lying to them all this time. There is a reason why these attacks no longer carry any weight – people who lived under Trump’s first term can’t recall jackbooted thugs marching through the streets and rounding up political enemies because it did not happen.
It is also worth pointing out that AOC’s observation shows that the threat of cancel culture isn’t quite as dangerous as it once was. Several rappers performed for Trump’s inauguration without fear of damage to their careers. Billionaires donated to the president’s inaugural fund with impunity. Indeed, it became such an issue that two Democratic senators sent a letter to Big Tech leaders who gave to the fund, issuing a thinly veiled threat.
We live in a different time now, and AOC seems to understand that, even if it frightens her. After living four years under former President Joe Biden, the American public decided that perhaps the Orange Man isn’t so bad after all.
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