On Tuesday evening in an online conversation with The Wing, a networking and community space for women, a questioner asked Ocasio-Cortez about the accusation recently leveled against Biden by Tara Reade, who worked for him when he was a Delaware senator in the 1990s. The questioner opposes President Trump's reelection, but also "really resent the fact that the other choice is someone who has a really long history of being creepy to women."
Ocasio-Cortez responded, "What you're voicing is so legitimate and real. That's why I find this kind of silencing of all dissent to be a form of gaslighting."
She went on to say, "I think it's legitimate to talk about these things. And if we want, if we again want to have integrity, you can't say, you know — both believe women, support all of this, until it inconveniences you, until it inconveniences us."
"A lot of us are survivors, and it's really, really hard and uncomfortable." Not discussing allegations is the "exact opposite of integrity" the congresswoman said, adding that it is "not okay" to prioritize beating Trump over discussing sensitive #MeToo issues like these because they are "very legitimate thing."
"I think a lot of us are just in this moment where it's like, how did we get here? You know, it almost felt like we started this cycle where we had kind of moved on from, you know, from all of this. And now it feels like we're kind of back in it," Ocasio-Cortez said. "And, you know, the most diverse field that we've ever seen — that we're kind of back kind of replaying old movies in a way."