A brief video of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaking at a church celebration surfaced online this week. It went viral, with millions of views and many comments that focused more on her appearance than on what she was saying.
The 33-second video, which initially aired on C-SPAN on September 22, 2022, shows Rep. Ocasio-Cortez celebrating the First Baptist Church of Corona for its 100th anniversary. In the video, she talks about the church’s longstanding food pantry program, its employment programs for young people, its pandemic relief efforts, and its service to its diverse immigrant community in Queens.
The video went viral when someone posted it on X with the caption “Jesus Christ.” It earned over 3 million views. Many of the comments were crude jokes and memes about Rep. Ocasio-Cortez’s looks. Some inappropriate jokes and quotes included her picture and made political and socialist jokes.
Among the comments were mixed views. For example, one person said, “Goddamn it, we’re gonna lose the midterms.” The following comment said, “Call her anything but not ugly.” The following comment said, “It’s beautiful, I’m team AOC 2028.”
The viral video and comments were distracting many from what Rep. Ocasio-Cortez initially talked about. For example, she spoke about the First Baptist Church of Corona and its role as an anchor in the community under Pastor Patrick H. Young.
