Geraldo Rivera blasted fellow Fox News host Tucker Carlson for stating that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is not a woman of color last week in an episode of “Tucker Carlson Tonight.”
“To be clear Alexandria Ocasio Cortez is a proud woman of color,” the former TV host and political commentator tweeted on Tuesday morning. “To claim otherwise is mere provocation.”
Carlson attacked the Democratic congresswoman, who he has nicknamed “Sandy Cortez,” in a long segment Friday revolving around the release of the upcoming book “Take Up Space: The Unprecedented AOC.”
He then aired a clip from her Instagram in which she gives followers a makeup tutorial. At one point, she refers to herself as a woman of color (Ocasio-Cortez was born in the Bronx to a Puerto Rican family), prompting Carlson to claim otherwise.
“No one ever dares to challenge that description, but every honest person knows it is hilariously absurd,” he said. “There is no place on Earth outside of American colleges and newsrooms where Sandy Cortez would be recognized as a quote, woman of color, because she’s not.”
Carlson deemed her a “rich, entitled white lady,” adding that “She’s the pampered obnoxious ski bunny in the matching snowsuit, who tells you to pull up your mask, while you’re standing in the lift line at Jackson Hole. They’re all the same. It doesn’t matter what shade they are.”
Later, he ridiculed AOC for a video that begins with her stating “I’m alone today.”
“Is it just us or does that sound like an invitation to a booty call?” Carlson asked. “Maybe one step from ‘What are you wearing?’ Either way it’s a little strange, definitely over-sharing.”
Rep. Ocasio-Cortez hit back on Twitter, calling Carlson a “creep” in a thread asking “why Tucker Carlson is allowed/paid to engage in clear, targeted, libelous harassment that endangers people &drives so many violent threats that ppl have to fundraise for their own safety.”
With regard to his “booty call” comment in particular, she said: “It’s not within the realm of political commentary, & it’s not just me. He regularly targets people that do not have access to resources for protection. Once he gets to fantasizing about ‘booty calls’ of women on national TV I cease to see the political value outside of incitement.”
