Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's passion makes star quality

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has gained notoriety for her outspoken presence on social media platforms, radical political views, and her commitment to environmental and social justice issues. Ocasio-Cortez displays her passion through action; on her first day of congressional orientation, she protested climate change by sitting outside of House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi’s office^[1]. Several months later, she submitted her first piece of legislation, the Green New Deal - an ambitious 10-year plan that involved eventually ceasing the usage of fossil fuels in the United States entirely^[2]. In July 2019, she visited detention centers along the Southern border as an act of support for abolishing ICE^[3]. A month before, she openly supported the College for All Act, which would guarantee the elimination of student loan debt^[4]. Ocasio-Cortez is also vocal about LGBTQ+ and women’s rights; she attended and spoke at the New York Women’s March in 2019^[5]. AOC has garnered an immense following on social media due to her strongly opinionated tweets and arguments with fellow politicians, which have even included the current president. When Trump sent out a tweet calling the congresswoman a “wack job”, Ocasio-Cortez fired back, stating that it was “better to be a wack job than a criminal who betrays our country.”^[6] Ocasio-Cortez’s passion also becomes clear during her speeches, which have been described as “moving”^[7], “powerful”^[8], and “scorching”^[9]. On several occasions, she has visibly been moved to tears by certain topics, immigration in particular. Ocasio-Cortez’s intensity and progressivity have made her the face of the Democratic party, and the main target of the Republicans. She has quickly become one of the most talked-about politicians in the country - even more so than any Democratic presidential candidates^[10] - and was ranked on Time’s list of 100 Most Influential People^[11].