‘No person in America should be too poor to live’: Ocasio-Cortez explains democratic socialism to Colbert

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez became the youngest woman elected to Congress Nov. 6, after ousting 10-term incumbent Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.) in the primaries. (Video: Amber Ferguson/The Washington Post)

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who stunned 10-term incumbent Rep. Joseph Crowley in a Democratic congressional primary this week, continued a media blitz on Thursday night, appearing on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.”

Foremost on the host’s agenda was learning what the 28-year-old means when she describes herself as a “democratic socialist,” which Colbert said is “not an easy term for a lot of Americans.”

“I believe that in a modern, moral and wealthy society, no person in America should be too poor to live,” Ocasio-Cortez told Colbert. “So what that means is health care as a human right. It means that every child, no matter where you are born, should have access to a college or trade school education if they so choose it. And, you know, I think that no person should be homeless if we can have public structures and public policies to allow for people to have homes and food and lead a dignified life in the United States.”

“Those all seems like very worthy goals,” Colbert responded, adding: “You may get a little resistance from Donald Trump.”

Colbert then shared a Trump tweet from earlier in the week in which he declared Crowley a “Big Trump Hater” and suggested that his loss, which “nobody saw happening,” was partly because Crowley was not nicer and more respectful to the president.

“So I ask you, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, are you going to be nicer to the president?” Colbert asked.

“Well,” she said, “you know the president is from Queens, and with all due respect, half of my district is from Queens. I don’t think he knows how to deal with a girl from the Bronx.”