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Ocasio-Cortez Compares Controversy Over Northern Westchester Roots To Birther Theory

Just days before officially taking office, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is blasting cynics questioning her roots as a self-described "girl from the Bronx" despite moving to Northern Westchester when she was age 5, comparing the controversy to the birther conspiracy theory.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Photo Credit: @Ocasio2018 on Instagram
"Don’t be fooled by the plaques that we got, I’m still / I’m still Alex from the Bronx," wrote Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter.

"Don’t be fooled by the plaques that we got, I’m still / I’m still Alex from the Bronx," wrote Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter.

Photo Credit: @AOC on Twitter

Poll
Do you think it's fair for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to refer to herself as a "Bronx girl" despite graduating from Yorktown High School?
Final Results Voting Closed

Do you think it's fair for Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to refer to herself as a "Bronx girl" despite graduating from Yorktown High School?

  • Absolutely
    12%
  • Absolutely not
    50%
  • Probably OK
    4%
  • Probably not OK
    11%
  • Don't really care
    24%

The just-turned 29 Ocasio-Cortez, tweeting a reference to Jennifer Lopez’s “Jenny from the block," wrote above a  photo of a plaque representing her 14th congressional district, which is made up of parts of the Bronx and Queens: "Don't be fooled by the plaques that we got. I'm still / I'm still Alex from the Bronx.''

Ocasio-Cortez has said that she moved from the Parkchester section of the Bronx to for a small home in Yorktown Heights as a child so she could go to public school there, but that her father and other family remained in the Bronx.

In a new round of tweets on the subject, Ocasio-Cortez, who graduated from Yorktown High School in 2007, fired back at John Cardillo, a host of Newsmax's "America Talks Live," among others.

Cardillo had shared shortly after Ocasio-Cortez's upset primary win over incumbent Joe Crowley a photo of the childhood home in Yorktown Heights, saying she lived there until she went to attend Brown University. (Ocasio-Cortez actually attended Boston University.) 

Ocasio-Cortez compared the comment to the birther conspiracy theory, saying, "You’re the dude whose immediate reaction to winning my primary was posting a photo of my mom’s house.

"Going to public school in Yorktown has *always* been how I told the story of income inequality.

"You didn’t even know who I was 7 months ago. You’re not gonna 'birther' me now."

In another tweet, on Saturday, Dec. 29, Ocasio-Cortez wrote to her now more than 1.7 million followers, "My mamá taught me how to deal with bullies. When I moved to a new town at a young age, I stuck out for all sorts of reasons: I looked different, I spoke Spanish, my clothes weren’t as nice."

That same day, Ocasio-Cortez changed her Twitter handle from @Ocasio2018 to @AOC.

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