If Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has a talent, it's for pushing the Democratic Party to the edge of a cliff—and then blaming everyone else for the fall. The self-proclaimed democratic socialist from New York has once again seized national headlines, this time by calling for the impeachment of President Donald Trump following his decisive strike on Iranian nuclear facilities.
The operation, according to most defense experts and even some Democratic senators, led directly to a ceasefire and prevented a broader regional conflict.
But that hasn’t stopped AOC from latching onto what she sees as her newest impeachment crusade. The result? An open civil war inside the Democratic Party, with moderates and even party heavyweights rolling their eyes—or rolling out the flamethrowers.
Chris Cuomo, former CNN host and now a NewsNation commentator, is not exactly known for cozying up to conservatives. But even he’s had enough of AOC’s perpetual rage-fueled performance politics.
Cuomo went full nuclear on air, accusing Ocasio-Cortez of “killing the Democratic Party,” saying she’s turned into a one-woman wrecking ball for a coalition already held together by duct tape and identity politics.
His main point? You don’t beat Trump by becoming the mirror image of MAGA extremism. You beat him by offering better ideas. Something AOC, according to Cuomo, has yet to do.
“She’s on the wrong side of every 80-20 issue,” Cuomo ranted. And he wasn’t wrong. Defunding the police, embracing radical anti-Israel rhetoric, now pushing to impeach a sitting president for a military action that stopped Iran in its tracks—each of these positions appeals to the fringe 20% while alienating the overwhelming 80% of Americans who actually want safe streets, national security, and a government that functions.
But AOC doesn’t see nuance. For her, every issue is a moral apocalypse. There is no debate, no middle ground, no such thing as good faith disagreement. You’re either with her, or you’re evil.
And in her eyes, Trump’s surgical military strike was not a victory or a deterrent—it was a constitutional violation. Never mind the actual War Powers Resolution.
Never mind that past presidents from both parties have engaged in similar actions. Never mind that Iran had been inching toward breakout nuclear capability. In AOC’s world, facts bend to ideology like spoons in a magician’s hand.
It’s easy to forget, amidst the noise, that Ocasio-Cortez isn’t just a Twitter phenomenon or an occasional Fox News punchline. She holds real power. She commands a loyal army of online followers and influencer-wannabes who treat every one of her threads like scripture.
She speaks for a certain brand of the left that doesn’t believe in persuasion, only coercion. And now, that worldview is seeping deeper into the Democratic bloodstream, infecting not just policy debates but the very survival of the party as a national force.
Her attack on Trump wasn’t just poorly timed—it was tone-deaf. Americans had barely finished digesting the news that 14 “bunker buster” bombs had wiped out key Iranian nuclear sites before AOC was online, accusing the president of warmongering and violating congressional authority.
Never mind that the operation prevented escalation and was praised by allies abroad. Never mind that Iranian proxies were reportedly scaling back retaliation plans.
According to AOC, it was all about Trump being a power-hungry dictator, and that was reason enough to pull out the dusty impeachment playbook once again.
Even Democratic Senator John Fetterman, hardly a conservative darling, dismissed her outrage as useless theatrics. “She knows it. I know it. We all know it… that is not going anywhere,” Fetterman told Fox News.
“Throwing around the word ‘impeachment’ like it’s a party favor only cheapens the institution.” When a tattooed Pennsylvania populist has to be the voice of reason, you know your party is in trouble.
But what’s truly stunning isn’t AOC’s melodrama—it’s her breathtaking lack of self-awareness. She preaches about justice while campaigning for Zohran Mamdani, a socialist candidate who defeated her own party’s establishment in New York.
She talks about democracy while undermining elected officials within her own caucus. She champions the “working class” while spending more time posing in Vanity Fair spreads than in community town halls. And when she gets criticized? It’s misogyny. It’s racism. It’s establishment gatekeeping. It’s anything but accountability.
Chris Cuomo had a point when he invoked his family’s legacy—his brother Andrew and his late father Mario, both former governors of New York. “You ain’t s**t compared to him,” Cuomo blasted, referring to Mario Cuomo.
“Not in terms of intelligence, not in terms of success, not in terms of pedigree, not in terms of mission, not in terms of eloquence, not in terms of charisma, not in terms of anything, certainly not electability.” Harsh? Yes. Fair? Also yes.
AOC’s “electability” has always rested on a narrow, urban district in the Bronx. That’s not a knock on her background—it’s a reality check. Her brand does not scale.
She might light up TikTok and pull off designer gowns with slogans like “Tax the Rich,” but she’s never had to compete in a purple district. She’s never had to win over Midwestern moderates or southern independents. Her playbook works only in a handful of ZIP codes, and her influence is corrosive outside of them.
And let’s not forget that her whole “impeach Trump” crusade comes at a time when Democrats are desperately trying to rebuild their shattered coalition.
They lost the White House, the House, and the Senate. Their fundraising has been anemic. Their leadership bench is thin. And into this power vacuum steps AOC with a can of gasoline and a lit match.
Is this really the savior the party wants? Someone whose idea of political discourse is rage-tweeting during prime time? Someone whose grasp of foreign policy seems rooted more in student activism than statecraft? Someone who thinks “socialism” is just a cooler brand of progressivism, as if history hasn’t shown us how that always ends?
And yet, many in the media are too afraid to say what Cuomo said out loud. They’re worried about being labeled sexist or out-of-touch. They tiptoe around her wild claims and treat every hot take as a serious policy proposal. They elevate her as the future of the party while ignoring the scorched earth she leaves behind.
The good news is that voters aren’t stupid. They see through the performative outrage. They understand the difference between leadership and online activism. And as Fetterman and Cuomo both made clear this week, there are still Democrats who remember what winning looks like.
But it’s getting harder. Every time AOC picks a new target—whether it’s law enforcement, Israel, or now, military action against Iran—she forces her party into uncomfortable contortions. Do they defend her? Do they distance themselves? Do they just pray she’ll go viral for something harmless like a cooking video?
The reality is simple: You cannot build a winning national coalition on the back of 20% approval ratings and TikTok algorithms. If Democrats want to return to relevance, they need to start acting like a party for adults, not influencers. That means offering serious solutions to serious problems—not impeachment fantasies to get applause from podcast bros.
So while AOC continues to swing her rhetorical hammer at every sacred institution in sight, the rest of her party is left to pick up the pieces. Whether they can rebuild anything before 2026 remains to be seen. But one thing’s for sure: as long as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is holding the microphone, the Democratic Party will struggle to find its voice.