Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Still A Top Target Of Republicans, Fox News While Popularity Continues To Grow

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is just 29 years old and has only served a month in government, yet the New York congresswoman has drawn more attention in a short span than some Capitol Hill lawmakers have received over a 20-year career.

Ocasio-Cortez, a Latina of Puerto Rican heritage who became the youngest woman ever elected to Congress, saw her profile surge in June after unseating incumbent Democrat Rep. Joe Crowley, who had served for two decades as New York's 14th congressional district. Ocasio-Cortez campaigned primarily against corporate money in politics and seems to have since been anointed the spokesperson for millennial liberals.

Since her victory, Ocasio-Cortez has become a lightning rod for conservative media. Fox News has dedicated ample attention to Ocasio-Cortez's public image, with one guest on the network calling her "[Fidel] Castro's granddaughter," while the network also attempted to discredit her working-class persona by discussing her designer clothes and inexplicably devoting attention to her dancing in college.

Fox News' fixation on Ocasio-Cortez has also involved her policies. Tucker Carlson dismissed Ocasio-Cortez's sponsored bill, the Green New Deal, calling her a "screeching moron" while criticizing her for failing to pressure China about carbon emissions. Laura Ingraham described Ocasio-Cortez as "the thought leader of the Democratic Party" after previously claiming she benefited from "minority privilege."

The Trump administration hasn't overlooked Ocasio-Cortez either, mocking her for her dire warnings about climate change.

"I don't think we're going to listen to [Ocasio-Cortez] on much of anything, particularly not on matters we're going to leave into the hands of a much, much higher authority, and certainly, not listen to the freshman congresswoman on when the world may end," White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders told Fox News host Sean Hannity in January.

Conservatives' ceaseless preoccupation with Ocasio-Cortez has not been lost on National Review Online contributor Dan McLaughlin, who on Jan. 4 published a 1,600-word article with the headline, "Why Does Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Get So Much Attention From The Right?" McLaughlin at one point describes Ocasio-Cortez's supporters as "fans," which seems appropriate given her rock-star-like appeal.

Democrats have also weighed in on Ocasio-Cortez. Former Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill called her a "shiny object." New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo has been at odds with Ocasio-Cortez about Amazon's decision to leave New York City.

All of the attention has been a boon for Ocasio-Cortez, who seems to feast off the vitriol, even posting on Twitter, "Don’t hate me cause you ain’t me, fellas" after she was booed by Republicans for voting for Nancy Pelosi for Speaker of the House. She also been savvy in interviews, as she appeared quite comfortable chatting with Trevor Noah on "The Daily Show" in July and in January enjoyed a favorable conversation on "The Late Show with Stephen Colbert."

When Colbert led with asking how Ocasio-Cortez felt about fellow Democrat lawmakers' perceived "wait-your-turn" and "don’t-make-waves" viewpoints for her short time in Congress, he followed with: "I want to ask this question in a respectful manner, knowing also that you’re from Queens, so you will understand this question. On a scale from zero to some, how many f---s do you give?"

Ocasio-Cortez, predictably, answered "zero" to loud applause.

Much of Ocasio-Cortez's success seems to be due to her mastering of social media. She has engaged in minor feuds with Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham and first daughter Ivanka Trump. Ocasio-Cortez even chimed into a Twitter spat between pop star Cardi B and Fox News pundit Tomi Lahren.

But it's not all showmanship. Ocasio-Cortez's questioning of Donald Trump's former personal attorney Michael Cohen may have provided some clues about the Trump Organization's real estate dealings, which might pave the way for the release of the president's tax returns. Furthermore, she has forced Democrats and Republicans to at least talk about the Green New Deal.

Meanwhile, Ocasio-Cortez's popularity hasn't subsided, as she has 3.36 million followers on Twitter — nearly double her total from early January. In comparison to other new Democrat House members, Ocasio-Cortez's Twitter prominence dwarfs the likes of Rep. Ilhan Omar (641,000 Twitter followers), Rep. Rashida Tlaib of Michigan (66,900 followers) and Rep. Katie Hill of California (41,400 followers).

According to Ocasio-Cortez, her formula for a strong social media presence is simple.

"Rule No. 1 is to be authentic, to be yourself and don’t try to be anyone that you’re not," she told Colbert. "So don’t try to talk like a young kid if you’re not a young kid. Don’t post a meme if you don’t know what a meme is. That was literally my advice, and I said, 'Don’t talk like the Founding Fathers on Twitter.'"

Ocasio-Cortez has tweeted more than 7,000 times and she is not expected to slow down anytime soon. On Saturday, she had two retweets and two postings that included a defense of Rep. Omar and one that fired back at hypocrisy allegations from a New York Post article by Melissa Klein and Isabel Vincent, an investigative reporter who seems to have recently been given the AOC beat, which has included, of all things, interviews with employees at a Bronx pizzeria about whether Ocasio-Cortez has frequented it.