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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) received backlash after she was photographed on a first-class flight to Senator Bernie Sanders' "Fighting Oligarchy" rally shared by the New York Post.
Ocasio-Cortez, 35, was spotted on JetBlue Flight 511 from New York to Las Vegas on March 19, having spoken at Sanders' rally the following day. The photo received backlash from critics as the congresswoman appeared to be taking in the luxury flight prior to preaching about bringing down an oligarchy, specifically from the person who took the photo and shared it with the New York Post.
“Nothing says, ‘Power to the people’ like ignoring voters looking to say hello and reclining in first class while tweeting about income inequality,” the flier, who identified themselves as Tracey, an economy passenger wrote, claiming Ocasio-Cortez didn't respond to friendly comments after sitting down.
“AOC is fighting the system one first-class mimosa at a time,” the passenger added.
Ocasio-Cortez, who represents New York's 14th District, which includes parts of the Bronx and Queens, was seen leaning over in her seat and appearing to grab or look at something while a male passenger is to her right. The New York Post said a first-class JetBlue seat on the same route, time and a weekday for later this month would cost up to $1,100.
Other critics acknowledged that many climate-change activists -- a cause Ocasio-Cortez supports -- have argued that first-class seats produce more carbon emissions than economy seats as they take up more room and reduce the number of people able to fly at one time.
“Socialists are hypocrites. I’m surprised she didn’t take a private jet like most of her comrades,” said Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY), who represents Staten Island and Brooklyn, via the New York Post.
“It’s absolutely rich in hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is the operative word,” said New York Conservative Party chairman Gerard Kassar via the New York Post.
Ocasio-Cortez's appearance at Sanders' rally came after she slammed Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) last month for supporting a Republican-led funding measure, rather than fighting and shutting down the government, which she referred to as a "betrayal."