Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) spoke at a town hall event in Nevada on Thursday.
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NewsTranscript
00:00We're going to take our country back! Thank you everyone. Thank you so, so much for having me.
00:07My name is Alexandria. Some of you may know me as AOC.
00:15So happy to be back in Las Vegas.
00:20My home is a ways from here, but in truth the distance between us is a lot shorter than we think
00:28or even that we're told. And I want to thank each and every one of you
00:35for making the effort to be here today. Thank you all so, so much.
00:42I know a lot of you have had to make lots of plans and carpool and figure out how you're
00:47going to get here. Louder! And we don't... Pardon? Louder! Louder, okay. Okay, thank you.
00:55People in the back, thank you for helping. Is that good? All right, thank you. And I have to
01:00tell you, thank you Nevada because there's so many more people here than we even anticipated.
01:08We are at capacity today.
01:13And how many of you, for whom, how many of you here is this your first political rally?
01:20Let's give them a big round of applause. Thank you all so much for getting in the game.
01:25And I want to thank who here is also getting in the game after not being as involved in politics,
01:30not knowing so much, who feel called and compelled. Thank you, welcome, welcome.
01:36And I want to be the first to say I don't care who you voted for in the past.
01:41You may have voted for Donald Trump in the past. You may have voted for Kamala Harris.
01:48You may have not voted at all in the past, but I want you to know that,
01:58but you are here regardless of all of that. You are here today. And I want to thank you for that.
02:06In fact, we're all here together because we share in the frustration and the heartache
02:14that comes from watching those in power actively tear down or refuse to fight for
02:22everyday working Americans like us. And we are here together because an extreme
02:30concentration of power and corruption is taking over this country like never before.
02:37But we are also here today because we know that a better world is possible.
02:49But to get there, we need to be honest about where we are,
02:53because we are witnessing an oligarchy in America.
02:58And that is when those with the most economic, political, and technological power destroy
03:08the public good to enrich themselves while millions of Americans pay the price.
03:17And we are at a point where the wealthiest people in the world, like Elon Musk,
03:24and all the Republicans enabling him, are turning to loot what is left of Medicaid,
03:34Medicare, and Social Security to bankroll even deeper tax cuts and sweetheart contracts for
03:42themselves, their fellow billionaires, and their corporations. And our political system right now
03:52is ill-prepared for this abuse of power. In fact, our political system enables it,
04:00starting with the role of money in politics. But I am here to remind you that we are not
04:08powerless in this moment. People are starting to put the pieces together. And ironically,
04:18the most divisive forces in our country are actually starting to bring more of us together.
04:25And that is important because the billionaire and the elite class derives their power from dividing
04:34working people apart along lines of left or right, race and gender, creed and culture.
04:44They will throw every label and judgment and cultural debate at us in the book to keep us
04:52distracted and from realizing that the only division that is truly hurting our country the
04:59most is the endless greed by those at the very, very top, at the cost of everyone else.
05:07And that is why it has always been up to us, the working class of America.
05:17Our power comes from remaining focused together and building a movement where there is a place
05:24for everyone. For all the big talk that Republicans and the Trump administration
05:33like to flap about working people. If you actually listen carefully, every once in a while,
05:39they let the mask slip about what they actually think about us. You know, just last week,
05:46President Trump's lawyer, her name is Alina Haba. She went on television and when she actually had
05:55to be faced with explaining her job and when she actually had to be faced with doing her job,
06:03this is what she had to say, quote, quote, what intellectual thought when she was asked about me,
06:12quote, what intellectual thought you were in a bar,
06:16you were in a bar AOC and not to have a drink, but to serve one.
06:22Fuck her. And I want you all to understand. I don't care what this woman says about me.
06:34But I want you to understand that she isn't just talking about me here. She's talking about
06:40you. She's talking about all of us, because the entire job of the president's lawyer
06:49is to speak for him. Trump hired her to speak for him. So imagine what it means for our country
07:00that the president's own lawyer cannot even conceive of a working class person being
07:07intelligent simply because of the job that they have. This woman could not even recognize the
07:15American dream if it was fed to her on a silver spoon.
07:22But understand that this kind of disdain for working people by the most powerful people in
07:29this country doesn't just come from not being raised right. It's a shorthand for Elon Musk
07:36and Donald Trump's entire political agenda and a certain ugly kind of politics, lying to
07:44and screwing over working people so that they can steal from our health care and social security
07:51and veterans care to pay for tax cuts for the wealthiest and bailouts for their crypto
07:57billionaire friends. There's a word for this, corruption.
08:06And seeing all of this stack up, how overwhelming and brazen and selfish this all is,
08:13and the constant barrage of headlines and phone notifications pinging all day long,
08:20it's enough to make even the best of us give up. It's enough to make anyone want to give in to
08:27despair. And trust me, I get it. And that is by design. That is by design. Because when the system
08:36is stacked against you, it's hard to feel like anything you do matters. It's hard to feel like
08:43we matter in this democracy. And it is easier to give in to despair. And I can tell you,
08:52for a while there, when I was working as a waitress, years never being able to get ahead,
08:58I felt that way too. I tried to stop caring. I tried to just keep my head down and work my shifts
09:06and accept that this is just how things are. But that is no way to live. It's no way to live.
09:16And what I do know is that the working class does not have to live like this. In fact, we cannot
09:24live like this. And Donald Trump sees the immense pressure that working people are under.
09:32But his answer is to create an America where every man is for themselves.
09:41Now that he's in power, we can see it clear as day. He's handed the keys to Elon Musk and
09:48is selling this country for parts to the richest people on the planet for a kickback.
09:54And in exchange, they will bankroll his campaigns and those of his allies.
10:03They scratch his back, he scratches theirs, and the rest of us are left behind.
10:11And the clever thing, the clever thing is that these, the clever thing that these guys sell
10:17is making people like you and me think that we're just one step away from being in that club too.
10:26Grindset mindset, right? Except their spoils are not earned.
10:32They are not working for these billions. They are stealing these billions.
10:41Just look at what Elon Musk and Donald Trump are doing to our healthcare,
10:45our veterans benefits and social security. In order to pay for even more tax cuts for
10:52billionaires, they are slashing the programs that we have spent a lifetime paying into.
10:57And mind you, even if you aren't on Medicaid or Medicare, it raises your private insurance costs
11:03too. So every single house Republican voted to cut Medicaid.
11:14Now they're all scared. They're saying, we didn't say that. We didn't do that.
11:19Let me tell you something. If I tell you, if I tell, if I ask you, let me see. Do we,
11:24do we have a, do you have a kid around here? Okay. Can I ask your son a question? Very simple
11:29question. What is 10 minus four? I didn't say six. I didn't say that's what Republicans are
11:37doing with this budget. And what's your name? Bryce. Bryce's life depends on Medicaid.
11:46And all of us are here for Bryce, aren't we?
11:48That's what we're here for. We're here for Bryce. We're here for Bryce's mom. We're here for you.
12:02We're here for me because at some point, every one of us is going to need help. Every one of us,
12:10there's not some other people or other every one of us. And that's what community is about.
12:16And in order to pay for even more of those tax cuts for billionaires, they're slashing programs
12:21like, like the Medicaid that Bryce relies on. And every single Republican voted for it.
12:27You see, these budgets aren't just fights about numbers. They are fights over our values that
12:35define us as a country. Medicare, Medicaid, and social security were promises that we as a people
12:44have made to each other about what kind of country we are and who we are.
12:52It's not handed down from a politician or a billionaire. This is about the promises we make
12:59to each other, from neighbor to neighbor, from father to daughter, from friend to friend.
13:07You see these budgets, again, they aren't fights about numbers. And these promises don't come from
13:14politicians. They come from us. And they are promises that we make to each other. So to me,
13:23the strength of our country is not just measured by the height of our best days.
13:29It's also about who's there for us on our worst day.
13:34And that is why I'm here with you today.
13:42So let me show you exactly what I mean. Because when they like to call us radical,
13:49and what they like to call me is radical, I believe is common sense.
13:55I believe that when a person gets sick, they shouldn't go bankrupt in the wealthiest country
14:05in the history of the world. Common sense. I believe that a minimum wage should cover
14:13the minimum cost to live. Common sense. And by the way, we should see that not paying a living wage
14:23is also a form of corporate welfare and looting. Because big companies like Walmart and Amazon
14:31often rely on the food stamp program and public coffers to cover the wages that they won't pay.
14:41I believe that homes are not slot machines for investors and Wall Street.
14:48To export working families out of every last dollar that they have.
14:56A home is sacred. And when your landlord jacks up your rent by half overnight,
15:03or housing prices skyrocket because Wall Street treats our housing market like a casino,
15:09your government should fight for your ability to keep an affordable roof over your head.
15:18And finally, I believe our elected officials should take on abuses of corporate greed
15:25everywhere they find it. We must get big money out of politics and make clear that
15:32our country is not for sale. And that's why I don't and never will take money from lobbyists
15:41and corporations.
15:47You know, Fox News and the right wing will have you believe that these American values are
15:53something out of the Communist Manifesto. That we believe these things because we went to college
16:00and read them in a book somewhere. But let me tell you, Fox News, I don't believe these things.
16:06I don't believe in health care, labor and human dignity,
16:10because I'm a Marxist. I believe it because I was a waitress.
16:17Because I scrubbed toilets with my mom to go to school. Because I worked double shifts to keep
16:22the lights on. And because on my worst day, I know what it feels like to feel left behind.
16:30And I know that we don't have to live like this anymore, Las Vegas.
16:35We deserve better than this, Las Vegas. And despite the chaos that surrounds us at the
16:43moment, I want you to know that we are closer to that world than we think.
16:49This isn't just about Republicans. We need a Democratic Party that fights harder for us too.
17:05But what that means is that we, as a community, must choose and vote for Democrats and elected
17:15officials who know how to stand for the working class. Las Vegas, I want to tell you, I want to
17:24thank you for working hard to make that happen. You all put in the work out here. Your representative,
17:32Stephen Horsford, is a Culinary Union member. You did that. You did that. And it shows.
17:42Because last week, when other Democrats caved, your representatives, Stephen Horsford and Senator
17:50Jackie Rosen, stood strong against the pressure in Las Vegas and voted against the Republican
17:56funding bill that cuts billions from programs for the working class and for our veterans exposed
18:03to burn pits. Representative Susie Lee and every Nevada House Democrat voted no too.
18:10So I want to thank you. Your state is putting its weight out here.
18:16And we need more like them with the courage to brawl for the working class.
18:23So we must defend them, but we can't stop there. I want you, thank you, I want you to look at every
18:32level of office around and support brawlers who fight because those are the ones who can
18:38actually win against Republicans. Let's be real about that.
18:47And beyond elections, our task is also to build community. I'm talking about block associations,
18:55volunteer groups, causes around you. That is the connective tissue because community
19:01is the most powerful building block we have to defeat authoritarianism and root out the
19:07corruption in the White House. We might all come from different places, but we share a lot of the
19:19same experiences. So to all those who came here today, unsure of whether or not this is where
19:27you belong, I want to say that you do. You do better. No matter who you voted for, no matter
19:34if you know all the right words to say, no matter your race, religion, gender identity, or status,
19:42no matter even if you disagree with me on a bunch of things.
19:46But if you are willing to fight for someone you don't know, you are welcome here.
19:55If you are willing to fight for the working class regardless of who they are, how they identify,
20:02or where they come from, you are welcome here. Here, everyone is valued. But I will say this,
20:14those leaders on either side of the aisle who are willing to put their fellow Americans down
20:21so that they can get ahead or feel better about themselves, they may best find a home somewhere
20:27else. Because in this house, we stand together. Because here, we know that together without
20:35exception is the only way that we can win. So no matter how you identify or what you believe,
20:44especially out here, if you're a trans kid or a family of a trans kid, an LGBT family,
20:51we can't win without you. In fact, we can't win without you.
21:07And I hope you see this movement is not about partisan labels or purity tests. It's about
21:14class solidarity. The thousands of people who came out here today to stand here together and
21:21say our lives deserve dignity and our work deserves respect. No matter where we are or
21:29where we come from. And we are here to make a sacred promise to each other and to kids like Bryce.
21:36And that promise is to take care of each other
21:39on our worst days and to share in the successes of our best.