Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) suggested the “rhetoric” seen during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns in 2020 was to blame for her past support of the “defund the police” movement. “Of course, rhetoric in that time is not rhetoric that we would use today,” she said. Notably, Ocasio-Cortez has not endorsed Hong for governor because her focus is on “winning back” Congress for the midterm elections. During the interview, Ocasio-Cortez invoked a saying used by socialist New York City Councilman Chi Osse: “Woke 1 was crazy.” The phrase references past policy positions taken by left-wing politicians during the early months of the pandemic and at the height of Black Lives Matter.