Revealed: Donald Trump is secretly 'enamored' and 'starstruck' by AOC and has nicknamed her 'Eva Peron' after Argentina's legendary feisty feminist First Lady
Donald Trump has bestowed unlikely praise upon one of his fiercest critics, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, saying that although the New York congressional freshman appears to be a ‘ranting and raving lunatic on a street corner’, she has a ‘certain talent’ reminiscent of legendary Argentinian First Lady, Eva Peron.
Ocasio-Cortez, 29, has enjoyed a meteoric rise into mainstream political consciousness over the last twelve months, beginning with her stunning victory over Joe Crowley, a former US Representative stalwart of New York’s 14th Congressional district.
Since then, Ocasio-Cortez – or AOC, a self-professed ‘Democratic socialist’ - has become an omnipresent and fiercely outspoken figure in Washington, backing progressive causes such as the Green New Deal while regularly irking Republicansand Fox News in the process.
But all of her controversies have seemingly earned her an unlikely admirer in the man so often the center of her censures - and a man himself who is no stranger to fiercely diving opinion: President Trump.
Donald Trump has shed unlikely praise upon one of his fiercest critics, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (left), saying that although the New York congressional freshman appears to be a ‘ranting and raving lunatic on a street corner’, she has a ‘certain talent’ reminiscent of legendary Argentinian First Lady, Eva Peron (right).
The president then says he ‘became enamored’ by the congressional hopeful’s charisma, even becoming ‘starstruck’ by her
Speaking to Politico writer Tim Alberta for his upcoming book, American Carnage: On the Front Lines of the Republican Civil War, Trump admits that the first time he saw AOC he noticed in her a familiar figure.
Due for release on July 17, Tim Alberta’s American Carnage provides a history of the Republican party from the nomination of John McCain in 2008 to the half-way point of Trump’s first term in office.
‘I see a young woman,’ he tells Alberta, recalling seeing AOC during her primary against Crowley, ‘ranting and raving like a lunatic on a street corner, and I said: “That’s interesting, go back.”’
The president then says he ‘became enamored’ by the congressional hopeful’s charisma, even becoming ‘starstruck’.
‘I called her Eva Perón,’ Trump says. ‘I said, “That’s Eva Perón. That’s Evita.”’
Trump has never publicly made the comparison before, until he sat down with Alberta in a series of interviews late last year.
However, he’s previously said that his favorite Broadway show is Evita, starring Patti Lupone, writing in 2004 that he ‘saw it six times, mostly with [his first wife] Ivana,' according to the Guardian.
Perón, best known as Evita, was an actor who was married to Argentinian president Juan Perón and rose to enormous popularity before she turned 30, championing working-class voters and female and Unionist's rights during the 1940s and early 1950s.
Revered by millions in her own country, Evita went on to become a near saintly figure of compassion and devotion, before her tragic death in 1952, following a brief battle with cancer aged 33.
Her face still appears on stamps, coins and monuments in the six-decades since her death. She has also been the subject of numerous plays and films, with the likes of Elaine Page and Madonna flocking to portray her.
Perón, best known as Evita, was an actor who was married to Argentinian president Juan Perón (seen right) and rose to enormous popularity before she turned 30, championing working-class voters and female and Union rights during the 1940s and early 1950s
‘She’s got talent. Now, that’s the good news,’ Trump said of AOC, before reeling back his praise. ‘The bad news: she doesn’t know anything. She’s got a good sense, an “it” factor, which is pretty good, but she knows nothing. But with time, she has real potential’
Though her legend will likely long outrank AOC in the history books, Trump isn’t the first political figure to draw comparisons between the 29-year-old and Peron, with many citing parallels between the pair’s careers on each side of the political divide.
Both rose to widespread prominence against the established elites before the age of 30; both of the political figures are known for their rare gift for public speaking; and both women are noted for their championing of society's minority groups and causes.
‘She’s got talent. Now, that’s the good news,’ Trump said of AOC, before reeling back his praise.
‘The bad news: she doesn’t know anything. She’s got a good sense, an “it” factor, which is pretty good, but she knows nothing. But with time, she has real potential.’
In his book, Alberta notes that during his interviews with Trump in late 2018, the president ‘placed a comically exotic emphasis on the nickname: Ah-vit-tah’.
He also told the author that his early endorsement of AOC is a reminder of his ability to spot potential, adding that he knew instantly that Ocasio-Cortez had ‘a certain talent’.
Described as the ‘Wonder Woman of the left and the Wicked Witch of the right’ in a recent Time op-ed, AOC has - though often criticized by Trump - always been subject to a special kind of fondness from the president.
In April, Trump publicly panned the AOC and Bernie Sanders-backed Green New Deal, calling it the work of a ‘young bartender’ – a nod to her job before securing her seat in Congress.
He did, however, refer to AOC as a ‘wonderful young woman’.
The feeling, it seems, has often been far from mutual though, with just this week AOC branding Trump a ‘fascist’ in an interview with Yahoo News, blaming him for ‘completely engineering’ the humanitarian crisis currently plaguing the US-Mexico border.
The comments came after AOC and a group of other Democrats visited a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) facility in Clint, Texas, which a week prior saw more than 300 detainees remo
In a scathing thread of tweets, AOC’s take on the facility prompted a political earthquake.
‘CBP officers being so physically [and] sexually threatening towards me,’ she said, adding: ‘Officers were keeping women in cells [with] no water [and] had told them to drink out of the toilets.
‘This was them on their GOOD behavior in front of members of Congress.’
Due for release on July 17, Alberta’s American Carnage provides a history of the Republican party from the nomination of John McCain in 2008 to the half-way point of Trump’s first term in office.
‘You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll re-read some paragraphs 5x and still not believe them,’ Alberta said of the book’s controversial contents.
