Internet-savvy Progressive Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez confirmed to supporters on Monday night that she's taking a break from social media platform Twitter after 'negative comments' following her bout with COVID-19 gave her 'anxiety.'
The New York firebrand made the announcement on Instagram, a different social media platform.
Ocasio-Cortez tested positive for the virus on January 9 after her maskless jaunt to Miami, Florida where the Democrat sipped cocktails with actor Billy Porter.
The office of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who the lawmaker had criticized before and during her trip, suggested she could have avoided her social media clashes if she 'refrained from making unprovoked, bad-faith attacks.'
'Perhaps she could have avoided much of that “Twitter negativity” if she had refrained from making unprovoked, bad-faith attacks on Governor DeSantis,' DeSantis spokeswoman Christina Pushaw told DailyMail.com.
'By demanding our governor adopt the same failed pandemic restrictions as lockdown liberals like NY Gov. Hochul, while on vacation in Florida, the congresswoman unsurprisingly drew backlash and mockery.'
On her way back to Washington, DC on Monday Ocasio-Cortez held a Q&A on her Instagram Story.
One observant user, apparently noticing neither of her Twitter pages shared new posts since at least Thursday last week, asked: 'When will you come back to Twitter?? You're missed.'
'That's so funny that you bring that up,' Ocasio-Cortez smiled. '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.'
'And I found that when I went to open Twitter up again, it just like wasn't really making me --'
In a roughly 30-second long answer to a supporter's question, AOC revealed she's taking a 'break' from Twitter
Her video cut off at Instagram's 15-second time limit for individual clips, but she continued to explain her absence on the Mark Zuckerberg app in a second portion.
'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 said.
'But -- and there's a lot of negative negativity on there -- but I'll be back. Don't worry. Just a break.'
It appears the progressive legislator is keeping up her Instagram presence, however, where she has 8.5 million followers.
While that number dwarfs the support of her fellow progressives in Congress -- like Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders' 6.6 million and Ilhan Omar's 1.3 million -- it's much lower than her Twitter audience of nearly 13 million followers.
Her official Congressional handle, @RepAOC, has roughly 733,500 followers.
Despite staunchly advocating for mask and vaccine mandates, Ocasio-Cortez abandoned her own rhetoric during a trip to Miami, Florida in early January where she was spotted maskless at numerous venues.
AOC and Porter hugged during the outdoor event - he has yet to comment on her diagnosis, and its unclear if the Pose star has himself been exposed or infected
AOC has tested positive for COVID days after she was pictured partying maskless in Miami with actor Billy Porter (pictured in animal print)
AOC was also snapped enjoying cocktails at a Miami sushi restaurant with boyfriend Riley Roberts, with Roberts' Birkenstocks sparking a subsequent war of words between the firebrand congresswoman and conservative commentators
Her vacation was dragged on Twitter by conservatives, including a Twitter account devoted to and endorsed by Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, which invited her to 'enjoy a taste of freedom' in the Sunshine State.
'Welcome to Florida, AOC! We hope you're enjoying a taste of freedom here in the Sunshine State thanks to @RonDeSantisFL's leadership,' the tweet, by the Team DeSantis account, read.
Ocasio-Cortez responded to photos and criticism online with a tweet saying: 'Hasn’t Gov. DeSantis been inexplicably missing for like 2 weeks? If he’s around, I would be happy to say hello. His social media team seems to have been posting old photos for weeks. In the meantime, perhaps I could help with local organizing. Folks are quite receptive here.'
She was snapped cuddling maskless with Pose star Billy Porter, and basking in the attention of other attendees, who were evidently thrilled to be in the presence of the star lawmaker.
Just a week later the Democrat's office released a statement announced she'd tested positive for COVID-19.
The progressive representative revealed her diagnosis on her Twitter page Sunday night
News of AOC's diagnosis triggered online mockery, with one commentator saying AOC shouldn't have visited Florida, and another mocking the lawmaker's claim that conservatives angry about her trip to the Sunshine State were actually harboring a secret crush on her
'She is experiencing symptoms and is recovering at home. The Congresswoman received her booster shot this Fall, and encourages everyone to get their booster and follow all CDC guidance,' the statement read.
News of her diagnosis sparked mockery online, with one reply to the Twitter announcement berating Ocasio-Cortez for taking the trip to Florida during a time when COVID cases reached a record high.
Another joked about her assertion that anyone criticizing her for the rules-free trip actually harbored a crush on her, writing: 'The virus just wants to date you.'
It was in reference to her date at an outdoor sushi restaurant with her boyfriend Riley Roberts.
Roberts was snapped wearing a pair of Birkenstocks with bare feet, prompting jokes from Republicans, and subsequent backlash from AOC who accused conservatives of being sexually frustrated.
Hitting back, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted: 'If Republicans are mad they can't date me they can just say that instead of projecting their sexual frustrations onto my boyfriend's feet. Ya creepy weirdos.'
Post a Comment