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Ocasio-Cortez’s Munich appearance draws mixed response from Democrats

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s (D-N.Y.) appearance at the Munich Security Conference has drawn a mixed response from members of her own party, underscoring a potential vulnerability of hers amid speculation she could mount a presidential run in the future. 

The New York congresswoman took part in the annual international security conference alongside world leaders — including other potential 2028 contenders such as California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) — last week, bringing her progressive, working-class platform to the global stage.

Though some Democrats say she did well, a faltering response on Taiwan and other comments have sparked criticism from some who say it shows her lack of foreign policy experience, which could be critical if she chooses to run for higher office. 

“It was a beauty pageant to show that she had some chops about international issues, and she showed a complete lack of chops about international issues,” said New York Democratic strategist Hank Sheinkopf.

“She’s not ready for prime time on the international stage,” he said, adding that if she runs for president “she’s now given the opposition tons of ammunition to destroy her.” 

In Munich, Ocasio-Cortez called for leaders to champion the working class and knocked the Trump administration’s foreign policy moves. 

“I think many of us are here to say: We are here and we are ready for the next chapter, not to have the world turn to isolation,” she said, when asked about the significance of her representing the U.S. at the conference. 

For Ocasio-Cortez, the heir apparent to progressive standard-bearer Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), it was a chance to grow her visibility, reach an international audience and showcase her foreign policy bona fides as part of a platform that has long focused on domestic issues. 

But several clips of her remarks in Munich circulating online have generated criticism and mockery from those on the right, with the likes of Ohio Sen. Bernie Moreno (R), Fox News host Sean Hannity, and right-wing commentator Benny Johnson piling on to question her preparedness on foreign policy.

At one point, she stumbled before answering a question on whether the U.S. should commit troops to defending Taiwan if China were to invade. At another, she described Venezuela as “below the equator,” though the South American country sits in the Northern Hemisphere. 

Even members of her own party have acknowledged the slipups.

New York Democratic strategist Jon Reinish said he doubts that the appearance will significantly help or hurt Ocasio-Cortez’s standing, but he noted foreign policy has been a weak point for the progressive in the past. 

“She has flubbed on foreign policy before, in speeches, in interviews, in some pretty high-profile ways. So it was a bit surprising to me that she put herself in a position to do so again, on an even more high-profile stage,” he said.

Others defended the congresswoman, arguing the criticism is a signal of Ocasio-Cortez’s strength in the party.

“She’s politically vocal and she sticks her head up. They cannot find an answer or solution to her. So their answer is to try to demonize her [and] make racial, disrespectful, derogatory comments of and around her and about her,” Democratic strategist Antjuan Seawright said of the criticism from the right.

Basil Smikle, a strategist who served as the executive director of the New York State Democratic Party, drew parallels to former President Obama, who visited Germany as a senator during his first presidential run in a signal of cooperation with allied governments.

“There [was] this real appetite for American leadership at home and abroad, and [Obama] was a unifying voice at a point where there’s a tremendous amount of anger, disappointment, fear and uncertainty. And I think that’s the role that, in many ways, AOC is playing for a different generation, for a younger generation of Democrat, the younger generation of politicians,” Smikle said. 

“So does this advance those goals? Yes. I don’t know that they advance presidential goals, because I’m just not sure she’s there,” he added. He didn’t rule out the possibility she could decide to run for president but said she appears to be positioning herself more as a “kingmaker” in the party as the midterms approach. 

Ocasio-Cortez has dodged questions about her future plans, though her popularity and fundraising machine have already made her a potential 2028 front-runner.

She sidestepped the possibility during one of her two panel appearances in Munich, as the moderator drew attention to the chatter around the congresswoman. 

“When you run for president, are you going to impose a wealth tax or a billionaire’s tax?” the New York Times’s Katrin Bennhold asked. 

“I don’t think that— I don’t think that anyone — and that — we don’t have to wait for any one president to impose a wealth tax,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

A Yale Youth Poll last fall found Ocasio-Cortez with a double-digit lead over former Vice President Kamala Harris, Newsom and other top Democratic figures seen as 2028 contenders, underscoring her appeal among young voters.

The congresswoman herself highlighted a poll in December that put her up 2 points over Vice President Vance, the GOP heir apparent. And YouGov’s popularity tracker ranks the 36-year-old as the fifth most popular Democrat in the country, as of the end of the year, ahead of Newsom and just behind Harris, Sanders and Obama. 

Some observers raised concerns over Ocasio-Cortez’s answers in Munich.

Todd Belt, director of the political management program at the George Washington University, said “it didn’t bode well” that Ocasio-Cortez “didn’t have a response ready” on Taiwan, toward which the U.S. has a strategically ambiguous policy. 

“You should be ready — your policy adviser should have you ready for these types of questions on a moment’s notice, if you’re going to step into that sort of arena with the heavyweights on foreign policy,” Belt said. 

Still, Belt assessed that the positives of the congresswoman’s trip abroad will outweigh the negatives, especially when considering the far-off possibility of a presidential run in 2028 or later. 

“Negativity gets most of the traction, because AOC has a target on her … but this is just so, so early. We don’t even generally consider ourselves being in what’s called the invisible primary until after the midterm elections,” he said.

In a conversation on Sunday before college students at Technische Universität Berlin, Ocasio-Cortez gave her own answer about why it’s important for her to step into the international arena, acknowledging “all that speculation” domestically. 

“Progressive foreign policy has not been represented internationally in a very long time, if not ever, and I felt that it was very important to start bringing that into spaces of power,” she said.

“I remain ambitious, but my ambitions are in changing our political environment. That’s why I — when I was first elected, my ambition was to change the Democratic Party,” she said, emphasizing the need to elect “scores” of officials with similar values.

“I think oftentimes the discussions about speculations, etc., are so narrow, because frankly I think the ambitions of a progressive movement go so far beyond elected office.” 

Meanwhile, Ocasio-Cortez was not the only potential 2028 hopeful who made an appearance in Munich.

Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer (D) also appeared on a panel alongside the New York congresswoman, stressing her state’s ties to Canada amid tensions with the northern ally. 

Newsom, who took his fight with President Trump to the global stage in Davos, Switzerland, last month, sounded alarm in Germany that world leaders see the U.S. as a “wrecking ball” under its current leadership. 

“What’s going to be interesting to see for her is: Is this just the first step, or is this a one-off?” Reinish said of Ocasio-Cortez’s Munich trip.

“If she really starts to do a lot more appearances, speeches, meetings, social media, about with and in other countries, that will certainly stoke speculation about what her intentions are for two years’ time.” 

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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