Skip to main content
  • Online media
  • Iran
  • Epstein
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • RSS
  • Take Action
  • Search
  • Donate

Media Matters for America

  • News & Analysis
  • Research & Studies
  • Audio & Video
  • Archives

Media Matters for America

  • Nav
  • Search
  • News & Analysis
  • Research & Studies
  • Audio & Video
  • Archives
  • Online media
  • Iran
  • Epstein
  • Take Action
  • Search
  • Donate
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • RSS
aoc-the-breakfast-club-trump-tweets-white-supremacist-threats-02-25-2020.jpg

Rep. Ocasio-Cortez says Fox News' and Trump's obsessions with her have led to white supremacist threats

Written by Eric Kleefeld

Published 02/26/20 3:58 PM EST

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) said Tuesday that Fox News’ relentless coverage of her — and President Donald Trump’s resulting Twitter flames against her — have contributed to online threats against her safety.

During an appearance Tuesday on New York-based radio show The Breakfast Club, the hosts asked the representative about a Trump tweet from this past October, in which the president called her “a Wack Job!” (At the time, Ocasio-Cortez responded with a tweet of her own: “Better than being a criminal who betrays our country.”)

Ocasio-Cortez said she had not been surprised by Trump’s tweet: “I felt it coming, because a) He’s obsessed with television, and so he responds to things that he sees on television. And because I’m on Fox News, like, all the time, it felt like it was kind of a matter of time.

“But also, he doesn’t like attention not being on him. So if attention’s on anyone else — if it’s on Adam Schiff, it’s on Nancy Pelosi, if it’s on Colin Kaepernick, he’s going to try to find a way to reel that back into himself. … He’s a narcissist, but he is good at it.”

Video file

Citation

From February 25, 2020, edition of iHeartRadio’s The Breakfast Club

Show co-host Charlamagne tha God responded: “I don’t know if I blame the media for that or him.”

“It’s both. It’s like an addictive, unhealthy relationship that they have,” Ocasio-Cortez answered. “They can’t stop covering him, and he can’t stop consuming it.”

“Isn’t that dangerous for you, though?” Charlamange added. “Like, being AOC, when you have the president calling you a wack job, people coming at you, isn’t that dangerous?

“It’s very dangerous. It’s very dangerous. Yeah, I mean, I had a point last year where I would wake up in the morning, and I’d look at pictures of people who were trying to harm me that day. Like, over my breakfast, you know? And it’s — and a lot of times, it was white supremacists. And it’s very real — like, it’s very, very real, and it’s very scary. And that’s why I think when people, like especially on the far right, they’re like, ‘Oh, this is an attention thing’ — it’s like, I am not doing this for my health.”

Indeed, Ocasio-Cortez has long been a subject of obsession over at Fox. Media Matters previously found that in a 42-day period in early 2019, Fox News and Fox Business mentioned the freshman lawmaker at least 3,181 times — variously describing her as a “totalitarian,” “ignorant,” and “scary,” and saying she was waging a “war on cows.”

Moreover, at Fox News’ corporate sister publication, the New York Post, reporter Jon Levine published 11 posts about the congresswoman just this past weekend alone, as part of a series called “The AOC Tapes,” focusing on such things as Ocasio-Cortez eating a sandwich, criticizing Fox News, and singing in the car during a road trip.

The Latest

  1. Piers Morgan on Trump's Iran threats: “That is genocide. That is a war crime.”

    Video & Audio 04/08/26 11:46 AM EDT

  2. Laura Loomer criticizes ceasefire deal with Iran: “Iran practically got everything that they wanted”

    Video & Audio 04/08/26 11:34 AM EDT

  3. Megyn Kelly on Donald Trump: “I don't know about you, but I am sick of this shit. I'm just — I'm sick of it. Can't he just behave like a normal human?”

    Video & Audio 04/08/26 11:07 AM EDT

  4. Bannon says Trump won't take Iran ceasefire to the Senate; he is “going to make a deal and move on”

    Video & Audio 04/08/26 10:57 AM EDT

  5. Fox analyst Jack Keane on US ceasefire with Iran: “I wouldn't have done what we're doing. ... I think we should take control of the Strait of Hormuz ourselves.”

    Video & Audio 04/08/26 10:23 AM EDT

Pagination

  • Previous page ‹‹
  • …
  • Current page 34
  • …
  • Next page ››

In This Article

  • Fox News

    Fox-News-MMFA-Tag.png
  • Donald Trump

    Donald-Trump-MMFA-Tag.png

Related

  1. Fox News' Martha MacCallum: “This district in Louisiana was carved out to create a Black district, which I think should be offensive to people”

    Video & Audio 04/30/26 6:27 PM EDT

  2. Fox figures repeatedly claimed the economy would grow at a 5% pace thanks to Trump. It actually grew just 2% in the first quarter of 2026.

    Research/Study 04/30/26 5:07 PM EDT

  3. Gas prices are still surging. Fox personalities suggested just days ago that they peaked.

    Article 04/30/26 2:52 PM EDT

Media Matters for America

Sign Up for Email Updates
  • About
  • Contact
  • Corrections
  • Submissions
  • Jobs
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms & Conditions
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • RSS

© 2026 Media Matters for America

RSS