Here’s What Ocasio-Cortez Said When Asked Why She Endorsed ‘An Old White Guy’

Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez told a CBS News reporter at a Saturday rally that she is endorsing Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders for president because it shows America needs to cross racial lines.

There were reports during the fourth Democratic debate on Oct. 15 that the freshman congresswoman would endorse Sanders’s 2020 Democratic presidential candidacy. She attended Sanders’s rally at a New York City park alongside 26,000 people and made the official announcement onstage, Politico reported.

CBS News correspondent Nikole Killion spoke with the senator and congresswoman at the Saturday event, asking Ocasio-Cortez why she chose to endorse “an old white guy” as a woman of color. Ocasio-Cortez replied that it shows America has to cross racial, gender and generational lines.

“As a woman of color, why back an old white guy? And is this the future of the party?” Killion asked in front of Sanders during an interview that aired Monday on “CBS This Morning.”

“I’m actually very excited about this partnership because it shows what we have to do in our country is that we have to come together across race, across gender, across generation,” the congresswoman replied.

Killion asked if Ocasio-Cortez had met with other candidates before deciding to officially support Sanders. The congresswoman mentioned that she also met with Democratic Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, adding that “she’s a fabulous candidate.”

“Frankly, Sen. Sanders, Sen. Warren and myself are all on the same team in the party,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

Saturday’s rally was Sanders’s official return to the campaign trail after having a heart attack on Oct. 1. His next appearance will be in Iowa later this week, The Associated Press reported.

The congresswoman introduced Sanders onstage Saturday and told the crowd that “Bernie Sanders fought for me,” praising the senator but not giving specifics as to why she chose to endorse him specifically.