President Trump ruthlessly jabbed at Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) Thursday for fumbling an appearance at last weekend’s Munich Security Conference — saying it could end her presumed interest in succeeding him.
“There was one young, attractive woman, she was unable to answer questions, and she didn’t do so well like [Vice President] JD [Vance] did in college,” Trump said in a speech to Board of Peace members.
The Bronx and Queens lawmaker’s appearances in Bavaria went off the rails this past Friday when she gave a sputtering response about US policy toward Taiwan and wrongly said Venezuela was “below the Equator.”
President Trump speaks at the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace on Thursday, Feb. 19, 2026. Getty Images“AOC, she was unable to answer a simple question, and she could have said, ‘Well, I’m studying it, and I’ll report back to you next week,’” Trump said Thursday.
“You know, you can get away with that, but she just went, ‘Uhh, uhh …’ I think it could be a career-ending answer,” the president said.
“For 25 years, anybody running against her — I think [White House Chief of Staff] Susie [Wiles] is going to use that little piece of stuff. It was not good, it was not good. That was not a natural.”
Later, as he traveled aboard Air Force One for a day-trip to Georgia, Trump told reporters that the self-described democratic socialist was “stupid.”
“I don’t think she knew what Taiwan was,” he said.
Ocasio-Cortez, 36, was elected to the House in 2018 following a stunning primary upset of then-House Democratic Caucus Chairman Joe Crowley and has a national following.
Her appearance at the international summit was widely interpreted as a step toward a possible presidential campaign in 2028.
Following Trump’s remarks, Vance also mocked Ocasio-Cortez from the Board of Peace rostrum.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaks in Munich on Feb. 13, 2026. REUTERS“I’m tempted, sir, just to freeze for 20 seconds, and just stare at the cameras,” he joked, “and maybe they’ll say nice things about me like they do about Congresswoman Cortez.”
Ocasio-Cortez retaliated on X, writing of Vance: “The only thing longer than my pause to think was their silence to his joke.”
She did not immediately respond to Trump’s critique.
