On Monday, Jan. 31, the controversial, 32-year-old congresswoman who grew up in Northern Westchester County and who has been a prominent figure on social media since taking office, announced a temporary moratorium, citing anxieties that were caused by negative comments on the platform.
The announcement came after an Instagram user made note that Ocasio-Cortez had not issued a tweet on her personal account since the middle of January.
According to reports, the move to drop social media temporarily came as the 2007 Yorktown High School graduate was ridiculed following a positive COVID diagnosis after she returned from vacationing in Florida, where she was occasionally caught on camera without a mask.
Ocasio-Cortez tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday, Jan. 9 following her Florida vacation.
“That's so funny that you bring that up." Ocasio-Cortez responded. ”Yeah, when I got COVID, I turned off all my devices, which means I wasn't really on social media that much or anything like that,” she continued, adding that Twitter “made her feel anxious” when she would log back in to her account.
"People kind of fight and gossip and all this other stuff so much, but - and there's a lot of negativity on there - but I'll be back. Don't worry,” she added. “So I mean, literally, I would go to open the app and I almost felt like, anxious. People like, kind of fight and gossip, and all this other stuff so much.”
Ocasio-Cortez was back on Twitter on Tuesday, Feb. 1 to target West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin’s amid failed negotiations for the “Build Back Better” bill. Her previous latest tweet was dated Thursday, Jan. 27.
“Seniors, kids, & people with disabilities in my community have been sleeping with bubble jackets on in 18 degree nights, despite paying rent, bc the NYCHA funding to fix their heating and capital needs is in BBB,” she posted. “Where should I direct them to wait out the cold? Manchin’s yacht?”
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