{"id":2570893,"date":"2026-02-18T05:28:02","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T10:28:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/aocs-2028-ambitions-hit-a-snag-in-munich-as-she-is-top-of-mind\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T05:29:55","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T10:29:55","slug":"aocs-2028-ambitions-hit-a-snag-in-munich-as-she-is-top-of-mind","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/aocs-2028-ambitions-hit-a-snag-in-munich-as-she-is-top-of-mind\/","title":{"rendered":"AOC&#8217;s 2028 ambitions hit a snag in Munich as she is top of mind"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Faocs-2028-ambitions-hit-a-snag-in-munich-as-she-is-top-of-mind%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2570893&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez\u2019s first international appearance at the Munich Security Conference,framed by some as a test of her readiness for a 2028 bid,instead became a focal point for foreign-policy missteps.The piece describes how she claimed Venezuela was \u201cbelow the equator\u201d and stumbled on questions about defending Taiwan, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/catholicvote-launches-3-million-ad-campaign-to-remove-catholic-democrats-from-office\/\" title=\"CatholicVote Launches  Million Ad Campaign To Remove Catholic Democrats From Office\">drawing sharp criticism<\/a> from Republicans who contrasted her performance with Marco Rubio\u2019s clearer, more traditional diplomacy. donald Trump repeatedly suggested her responses showed a lack of preparedness.<\/p>\n<p>The coverage also notes that Ocasio-Cortez defended the trip as aimed at highlighting global inequality and the risks posed by far-right populism, arguing the conversation should focus on substance rather than online controversy. However, the virality of the gaffes sparked broader speculation about her future, with analysts weighing whether the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >missteps coudl undermine potential runs<\/a> for the Senate or the White House in 2028, given her relatively <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/trump-appoints-kushner-and-witkoff-to-execute-gaza-peace-deal\/\" title=\"... appoints Kushner and Witkoff to execute Gaza peace deal\">limited foreign-policy experience<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The article places her moment within a larger context of a democratic Party in a period of rebuild and internal debate over strategy, messaging, and foreign policy. Some observers believe the attention too her missteps is overstated, while others see it as a meaningful indicator of how feasible a future national campaign could be for her.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">AOC&rsquo;s Munich gaffes reveal possible 2028 challenges<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2449167\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>Rep.&nbsp;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/alexandria-ocasio-cortez\/\">Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez<\/a> (D-NY)&rsquo;s international debut at the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/munich\/\">Munich Security Conference<\/a> was supposed to showcase her readiness for a possible 2028 bid for Senate or the White House. Instead, it exposed foreign policy missteps that sparked mockery and renewed questions about whether the progressive firebrand is ready for prime time.<\/p>\n<p>Ocasio-Cortez claimed at the conference that <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/venezuela\/\">Venezuela<\/a> was located &ldquo;<a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/4459752\/aoc-claims-venezuela-is-below-the-equator-in-munich-flub\/\">below the equator<\/a>,&rdquo; while attacking President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"http:\/\/Donald%20Trump\">Donald Trump<\/a> over last month&rsquo;s capture of former Venezuelan dictator <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"http:\/\/Nicolas%20Maduro\">Nicolas Maduro<\/a>. She also struggled to give a clear answer when asked whether the U.S. would defend Taiwan if it were attacked by communist China.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4461163\/fetterman-trump-texas-senate-race-cornyn\/\">Fetterman suggests Trump &lsquo;lock down&rsquo; Texas Senate race with Cornyn endorsement<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4460907\/teresa-benitez-thompson-nevada-house-campaign\/\">Ex-Nevada Assembly leader launches Democratic House run after Amodei retirement<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/congressional\/4460710\/trump-endorses-texas-republicans-leaves-out-dan-crenshaw\/\">Trump endorses Texas Republicans but leaves out Dan Crenshaw<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>&ldquo;I think that this is such a, you know, I think that this is a, this is, of course, a very long-standing policy of the United States,&rdquo; Ocasio-Cortez began. &ldquo;And I think what we are hoping for is that we want to make sure that we never get to that point. And we want to make sure that we are moving in all of our economic research and our global positions to avoid any such confrontation.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/foreign-policy\/4457226\/aoc-populism-munich-rules-based-order\/\">AOC &lsquo;WORKING-CLASS PERSPECTIVE&rsquo; ON FOREIGN POLICY MIRRORS GLOBAL ELITE AT MUNICH SECURITY CONFERENCE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The missteps went viral and were quickly seized on by Republicans.  <\/p>\n<p>Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) contrasted her remarks with Secretary of State <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/marco-rubio\/\">Marco Rubio<\/a>&lsquo;s address in Munich, where he claimed that the <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/world\/4458424\/rubio-munich-address-tells-europe-we-belong-together\/\">U.S. and Europe &ldquo;belong together.&rdquo;<\/a> Rubio, like Ocasio-Cortez, is widely seen as a possible 2028 presidential candidate.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;If you have a split screen up with AOC on one side and Marco Rubio on the other side, you can see one, a departure from American values, and two, the reinforcement of American values by Marco Rubio,&rdquo; Scott told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em> podcast <em>In Focus with Peter Laffin.<\/em> &ldquo;He was quite (a) statesman. She was confused. He was clear. She was disillusioned. He was direct.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>Trump claimed the progressive Democrat &ldquo;had no idea what was happening&rdquo; and that her responses weren&rsquo;t a good look for the U.S.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;She had no idea how to answer, you know, very important questions, concerning the world,&rdquo; Trump said while talking with reporters on Air Force One. <\/p>\n<p>Ocasio-Cortez attempted to defend her presence in Munich during a phone interview with the <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2026\/02\/16\/us\/politics\/aoc-germany-munich-security-conference.html\">New York Times<\/a><\/em>, where she expressed frustration over speculation about the 2028 race and said the virality of her gaffes was a distraction &ldquo;from the substance of what I am saying.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>She argued that the trip overseas was &ldquo;not because I&rsquo;m running for president, not because I&rsquo;ve made some kind of decision about a horse race or a candidacy, but because we need to sound the alarm bells that a lot of those folks in nicely pressed suits in that room will not be there much longer if we do not do something about the runaway inequality that is fueling far-right populist movements.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Ocasio-Cortez, who was first elected to Congress in 2018, has mostly focused on domestic issues as a populist leader in the vein of Sen. <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/bernie-sanders\/\">Bernie Sanders<\/a> (I-VT). She was one of the original authors of the Green New Deal and has helped push the Democratic Party in a more progressive direction.<\/p>\n<p>The star power has given rise to rumors that Ocasio-Cortez is a likely candidate for higher office in 2028, either an insurgent campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination or a primary challenge to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY).<\/p>\n<p>In her remarks, Ocasio-Cortez excoriated Trump over his desire to acquire Greenland as a U.S. territory, slashing U.S. aid overseas, and rattling European allies with his America First priorities. She also linked the need for a &ldquo;working-class&rdquo; ethos to &ldquo;stave off the scourges of authoritarianism.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;To me, this pivot reads like the beginning of the 2028 audition process. Most likely for Senate, but she&rsquo;s keeping the door open for the White House, too,&rdquo; Democratic strategist and former Obama State Department alumnus Tom Cochran, told the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>The Democratic Party is in the midst of a rebuild and rebrand after voters not only backed Trump&rsquo;s return to the White House in 2024, but also gave Republicans a popular vote victory and control of both chambers of Congress. The rebuild has been beset by infighting over U.S. support for Israel, pressuring elderly incumbents to step down, and considering what direction is the best path to winning power.<\/p>\n<p>In Munich, Ocasio-Cortez showed she was not shying from those fights.  <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think that personally, that the idea of completely unconditional aid, no matter what one does, does not make sense. I think it enabled a genocide in Gaza,&rdquo; she said.<\/p>\n<p>Such comments were overshadowed by her gaffes on Taiwan and Venezuela. <\/p>\n<p>Democrats are unconcerned, however, claiming that 2028 is at least two years away, and voters were concerned about domestic problems such as the economy.<\/p>\n<p>Achyuth Sarath, a former 2024 Democratic delegate, dismissed the attacks as a &ldquo;nothing burger&rdquo; in an interview with the <em>Washington Examiner<\/em>. He also pointed out that Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) also spoke in Munich but Ocasio-Cortez got all the attention. <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Barely anyone is talking about him going there or what he talked about, but everyone&rsquo;s talking about the fact that AOC went there, I think says a lot about her viability as a candidate, or who people are interested in,&rdquo; he said.<\/p>\n<p>Matt Dallek, a political historian at George Washington University,&nbsp;noted that Trump, during his first 2016 presidential campaign, had no foreign policy and was a political novice prone to gaffes who went on to not just defeat Republicans such as foreign policy hawk Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) for the GOP nomination but also defeated former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for the presidency.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It&rsquo;s really unclear how much, if any, damage is done to her 2028 political prospects,&rdquo; Dallek said about Ocasio-Cortez. &ldquo;Her stumbles, I think, reflect both her political and policy strengths, but also her weaknesses because she doesn&rsquo;t have much, if any, foreign policy experience.&rdquo; <\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;And I think it&rsquo;s also a reminder of how difficult it is to run for president if, in fact, she&rsquo;s going to run from the House of Representatives,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s very difficult. Most members in the House do not have very much experience in foreign policy.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><strong><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/campaigns\/presidential\/4455990\/aoc-dodges-2028-munich-security-conference\/\">AOC DODGES ON 2028 WHITE HOUSE RUN AT MUNICH SECURITY CONFERENCE<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The missteps on foreign policy will likely be used against the congresswoman in any future run for higher office. Corbin Trent, a former aide to Ocasio-Cortez, dismissed the attacks against her foreign policy blunders as &ldquo;par for the course.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Look at this president we got right now, you talk about blunders,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Word salads are just, you know, flying out of his mouth. You start reading transcripts of what the man says in speeches, and it&rsquo;s incoherent, it&rsquo;s babble. So she didn&rsquo;t come anywhere approaching that. And we know that that allows you to win as president.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p><em>Naomi Lim contributed to this report. <\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>AOC Munich missteps spark 2028 bid doubts<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2658,"featured_media":2570894,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP26044798685424.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651,538],"tags":[54831,8334,17921],"class_list":["post-2570893","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","category-washington-examiner","tag-2028-ambitions","tag-aoc","tag-munich"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AP26044798685424.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2570893","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2658"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2570893"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2570893\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2570897,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2570893\/revisions\/2570897"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2570894"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2570893"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2570893"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2570893"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}