AOC Defends DSA Agenda as “Pro-Democracy,” Won’t Rule Out Presidency, and Sidesteps Condemning Hasan Piker Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez appeared on ABC’s This Week today and made clear where she stands on the growing socialist wing of the party. When asked if she is still a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, she confirmed: “Of the New York City chapter.” She described the DSA’s agenda — which includes abolishing the Senate, the presidency, and the Supreme Court — as “fundamentally pro-Democracy.” On whether she will run for president, AOC said: “I haven’t ruled out the possibility.” Asked about a potential primary challenge against Chuck Schumer, she replied: “Anything is possible.” When pressed on Hasan Piker — who has said “America deserved 9/11” and has been platforming progressive candidates — AOC refused to say he should be sidelined. Instead she pivoted: “We have lost young people…” She also celebrated the rise of these candidates: “We have really an ascendance of a young, inspiring, exciting electorate, energizing wave of candidates that I think really inject a new energy to the Democrat party…” AOC is clearly comfortable with the reach voices like Hasan Piker bring to the party. What this interview reveals is a willingness to prioritize power and political advantage over basic moral clarity. Refusing to draw a clear line against someone who claimed America “deserved” 9/11 is not leadership — it’s opportunism. As someone who was there that day, I find the refusal to condemn it indefensible. The victims and their families deserved better than a pivot. And pairing that with an open embrace of socialist ideology ignores the well-documented human cost of those systems across history.