Ocasio-Cortez roasted for 'rehab story' in The New York Times after Munich missteps

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., drew mockery from both sides of the aisle after New York Times reporter Kellen Browning posted on X Monday that the congresswoman had called him to respond to backlash over her comments at the Munich Security Conference over the weekend.

"AOC came to Munich to warn about the far-right. Coverage focused on 2028 & verbal missteps," Browning wrote. "She gave me a call."

The reporter's post linked to his Monday article on Ocasio-Cortez's visit to Germany, titled, "After First Big Overseas Trip, Ocasio-Cortez Expresses Frustrations," in which the congresswoman argued that "Everybody's got this story wrong."

After speaking at the security conference over the weekend, Ocasio-Cortez was mocked for multiple statements she made about Taiwan, as well as for saying Venezuela was below the equator.

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"Everyone's got this story wrong, that this is about me running for president," she told the Times. "I could give - whatever, about that, to be honest."

Users on X responded swiftly, accusing the congresswoman of attempting to reshape the narrative after facing widespread criticism for her comments at the conference.

"NYTs reporter doing his best to spin AOC's awful performance," wrote RedState contributor Bonchie. "But when you go to Munich to a global security conference, you should probably expect to be asked about global security issues."

Noah Pollak, senior advisor for the Department of Education, tore into Ocasio-Cortez for "speaking in dumb slogans, even when she's trying to clean up the mess she made by speaking in dumb slogans."

Journalist Paul D. Thacker satirized Browning's post and described his article in the Times as a "rehab story" to make the congresswoman "look better."

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"Some guy named Kellen is running a PR campaign for AOC's presidential strategy while saying he's a reporter," wrote Kennedy Center President Richard Grenell. "Pro tip, Kellen: if you use the phrase far-right then AOC is far-left."

OutKick writer Ian Miller joked it was "pretty awesome" that Ocasio-Cortez "realized her performance in Munich was such an incompetent disaster that she called up a friendly left wing media outlet to do damage control."

Ocasio-Cortez's office did not immediately return Fox News Digital's request for comment.

Conservatives weren't the only ones to roast Browning's post, with former CNN journalist Chris Cilliza responding, "Clean up on aisle AOC."

Former Democratic advisor Dan Turrentine said it was a "horrible idea" for Ocasio-Cortez to reach out to Browning in an attempt to smooth over the backlash she's received.

"It's now getting to the point where the kind of cover-up is worse than the initial crime," he argued on "The Huddle" podcast Tuesday. "Start with who she called. She called The New York Times, right? We talked about how her brand is social media savvy. She's young, she constantly is online, kind of giving and taking and just in the game, and next to Gavin Newsom, it's who people said… gets this modern world better than anyone else."

"To argue that, basically, it's unfair that people are taking clips and sending them around in short snippets, like, 'Duh!' Like it's pathetic and embarrassing for her to make this kind of whining argument … when you're calling card is that you're kind of the party queen of social media," Turrentine continued. "So I don't understand what she was doing."

Turrentine published a Substack post about Ocasio-Cortez running to the Times as well. He said the move was "off brand, unlikely to reach core allies, and was talking into the wind to people who already are skeptical" of her.

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The Free Press' Peter Savodnik, said, "This is embarrassing. Is The Times running point for AOC?" 

National Review editor Luther R. Abel wrote in response to Browning's post that AOC gave the reporter a call because she thinks "you're her PR firm."

The New York Times did not immediately return Fox News Digital's request for comment.

Journalist Rachael Bade said the "NYT appeal" by Ocasio-Cortez seemed "pretty whiny & only gave her critics more fodder."

Some of her fellow Democratic allies defended the congresswoman, including Gov. JB Pritzker, who reacted to Browning's post in defense of Ocasio-Cortez.

"AOC warned that democracy is under attack. She's right. Treating that like partisan politics is a moral failure," Pritzker wrote.