Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who identifies as a far-left “democratic socialist,” criticized the Green Party, labeling it as “not serious” and questioning whether it serves merely as a “spoiler” for the Democratic Party.

In a video that went viral over the weekend, Ocasio-Cortez addressed a user-submitted question on Instagram: “How do I tell my friends who are Jill Stein voters they are wasting their time and effort?”

“Y’all, this is a little spicy, but I have thoughts,” Ocasio-Cortez said before beginning her critique of the perennial third-party presidential candidate. “Trust me, I’ve been on record about my criticisms of the two-party system, so this is not about that,” referencing her own New York City candidacy representing both the Democratic Party and the Working Families Party (WFP) and her endorsements of WFP and Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) candidates.

“What I have a problem with is the fact that if you’re running for president, you are the de facto leader of your party,” she said, “and if you run for years and years and years and years in a row, and your party has not grown and you don’t add city council seats and you don’t add down ballot candidates and you don’t add state electeds, that’s bad leadership. That, to me, is what is upsetting.”

“If all you do is show up once every four years to speak to people who are justifiably pissed off, but you’re just showing up once every four years to do that, you’re not serious. To me, it does not read as authentic. It reads as predatory,” she added.

The Green Party, recognized for its environmental advocacy and opposition to war, currently boasts approximately 244,000 registered members across the nation, a decline from its highest membership of 319,000 in 2004. Although the party has fielded presidential candidates in every election since 1996, it has yet to achieve victory in federal elections or exceed 2.7% of the popular vote. Ralph Nader’s campaign in 2000, which garnered this percentage, faced significant criticism for being a “spoiler” in the closely contested election that was ultimately won by Republican George W. Bush, as reported by Time.

Jill Stein, the Green Party’s candidate for the 2024 election, who previously ran in 2012 and 2016, issued a pointed response to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez—whom she labeled “AOC-Pelosi” to underscore Ocasio-Cortez’s transition from an outsider to a prominent figure within the Democratic Party—in a video shared on social media on Tuesday.

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