On Thursday, August 1, 2026, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) criticized members of her own party for closing ranks around former President Joe Biden and rejecting primary challengers during a podcast interview.

"What I find very interesting about that moment and the people who talk about that time is that I think that some, not all, but some of the Democrats that are most aggressive about getting their narrative out about how they wanted to push Biden out were also the same Democrats that were most aggressive about closing the wagons on a primary process when we had a chance to have that in a presidential election," Ocasio-Cortez said.

The podcast host, Emma Vigeland of "The Majority Report," questioned Ocasio-Cortez on how Democrats lost credibility on democracy, noting that the party "boxed out voters with 'the genocide in Gaza' and Biden's run for re-election with no real Democratic primary."

Vigeland added, "When Kamala Harris was going around and talking about democracy with a banner behind her, they didn't have the credibility that they needed to fight this fascist threat."

Ocasio-Cortez remained loyal to Biden's candidacy until he dropped out in July 2024, despite growing calls within the party for him to relinquish the nomination following a poor debate performance against Donald Trump.

Meanwhile, efforts to primary Biden faced resistance from Democratic leadership. One challenger reported that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries' chief of staff informed him he "would not be speaking to Biden or anyone else in the White House" after notifying Jeffries of his intention to run against the sitting president.

The episode underscores ongoing divisions within the Democratic Party regarding the 2024 presidential primary process and Biden's candidacy.

Sources