President Trump mocked Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and her Green New Deal on Tuesday, referring to the New York democratic socialist as the “young bartender.”
"The Green New Deal, done by a young bartender, 29 years old," he told GOP House lawmakers at the National Republican Congressional Committee dinner. "A young bartender, wonderful young woman.”
He continued: "The Green New Deal. The first time I heard it I said, 'That’s the craziest thing.' You have senators that are professionals that you guys know that have been there for a long time. White hair, everything perfect, and they’re standing behind her shaking. They’re petrified of her."
Trump told the audience he didn’t want to knock the resolution too much since he hoped to campaign against it in 2020—a point he’s made about the Green New Deal before.
“You look at this Green New Deal — it’s the most preposterous thing,” Trump said during an interview with Fox Business last month. “Now I don’t want to knock it too much right now because I really hope they keep going forward with it, frankly, because I think it’s going to be very easy to beat.”
Ocasio-Cortez and Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts introduced the resolution in February, promising a “massive transformation of our society.” The resolution called for retrofitting every building in America to be energy efficient, eliminating cars, air travel, and fossil fuel and nuclear energy, as well as guaranteeing jobs, among other radical proposals.
The resolution was roundly defeated in the Senate last month, with 57 nays and 43 present votes. Not a single senator voted in favor of the Green New Deal.