New York’s Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has given her detractors some food for their hatred this week after the politician unveiled some new arrivals at her campaign shop.
Among the highly scrutinised collection, that featured clothing with such imprints as “drink water & don’t be racist”, “green new deal” and “student debt” (with slogan crossed-out), one item in particular stood out – a $58 sweatshirt that came with a slogan “TAX THE RICH”.
As the news of available pre-orders for the item were announced on AOC’s Twitter account, the online crowd could not but mock the eye-popping price tag on the clothing that was set to help Ocasio-Cortez’s campaign fund her socialist agenda. To many, the New York representative’s move was nothing else but blatant hypocrisy.
“Only the rich can afford this idiotic sweatshirt”, political commentator Ben Shapiro reacted to the merch’s release.
“Imagine talking about taxing the rich AND selling a sweatshirt featuring three words for $58. This is downright comical. It's almost like she doesn't believe her own public stances...” The Daily Caller’s David Hookstead noted.
AOC rushed to calm her critics, saying that Republicans were “freaking out” now as her team was apparently not using “slave-wage labor for merch” in a bid to fund “grassroots organizing.”
“But what’s the difference between Trump’s merch and ours? Ours is made in the US,” she proudly claimed on Twitter, a statement that has been disputed ever since.
Not everyone was convinced by the congresswoman’s explanation though, with many social media users continuing to point out the discrepancy between her “TAX THE RICH” clothing and socialist agenda.
“Most average working-class folks still can't afford a $58 sweatshirt, so the irony is palpable,” one user commented on her reply.
In the wake of the backlash, AOC’s shop has introduced a new item – the $27 tee-shirt featuring the same vivid inscription in capitals “TAX THE RICH”.
“The sweatshirt Fox News loves to hate, now in a tee,” the clothing’s specification reads.
The original sweatshirt still features on the website for the same price as initially advertised, although it is now described in its blurb: “as complained about on Fox News.” As of Sunday, the garment had been sold out, despite its staggering cost.
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is known as an outspoken supporter of socialist policies, including “Medicare-for-all” and a “Green New Deal”. As a vivid critic of capitalism, AOC has pushed for the abolition of billionaires as a class, claiming that their existence was not only “immoral” but also threatening to American democracy.