Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a Democrat from New York, addressed previous controversial remarks made by herself and other socialist politicians on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday. She joked that the “Woke 1” era was a “crazy” time.

During the interview, host Jon Karl asked about Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong’s controversial statements, such as calling for the abolition of Thanksgiving and prisons. Hong, seeking the Democratic nomination, has attempted to retract some of her past opinions.

I have a local city councilman that has this saying, ‘Woke 1 was crazy,’ Ocasio-Cortez remarked with laughter, adding, What’s important is assessing what a candidate is presently saying.

Ocasio-Cortez was further questioned by Karl regarding the socialist movement’s possible overreaches, noting her earlier support for police defunding during the COVID shutdowns. Ocasio-Cortez clarified that such comments occurred during an unprecedented time when people were more open to transformative ideas.

She stated, The doors were truly open to consider any and every policy that might lead us to improvement. The discussions during that period were indeed fruitful.

Concerning crime, she added, Our current discussions on crime differ fundamentally from earlier ones about reducing crime. We all aim for minimal crime rates. The rhetoric from the lockdown period isn’t used today. I’m grateful these candidates have a platform to present their campaign views.

Jon Karl mentioned that the national program for the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), supporting several Democratic politicians including Ocasio-Cortez, still supports police abolition. Ocasio-Cortez clarified that she belongs to the New York City chapter, not the national body, and doesn’t align with all their stances.

Adding context, Ocasio-Cortez was a past DSA endorsee but has caused internal disagreements within the organization over recent years. In 2024, the DSA withdrew its endorsement of her re-election for not meeting conditions like opposing all funding to Israel.

Recently, the group was divided on endorsing Ocasio-Cortez for the 2028 presidential race. A spokesperson from Canary Mission noted that despite DSA tensions, an AOC presidency could greatly influence the movement by giving its agenda access to executive power.