As Democratic presidential candidates spend the next two nights jostling to get their message out there, some are wondering how the party will define itself — as radical socialists as President Trump has claimed, or if a more moderate candidate will emerge. NBC 4 New York’s Melissa Russo reports.
What to Know
- Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez slams Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell after photo shows young men "groping & choking" her cutout
- The group of young men were seen wearing "Team Mitch" shirts surrounding a cardboard cutout of the freshman congresswoman
- The incident took place in Kentucky; In a tweet, AOC asked the senator "is this just the standard culture of #TeamMitch?"
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called out Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell after a photo appeared online showing young men "groping and choking" a cardboard cutout of the congresswoman all while wearing “Team Mitch” shirts.
The controversial photo, which seems to have been taken at Fancy Farm, Kentucky, appeared on Instagram and shows seven young men, possibly teenagers, wearing grey t-shirts emblazoned with the outline of Kentucky and the American flag and “Team Mitch.”
Some of those in the photo are seen making a “thumbs down” sign, while one is seen “choking” the cardboard resembling the freshman congresswoman and another “kissing” the cutout while hugging it around its waist.
“Hey @senatemajldr - these young men look like they work for you," Ocasio-Cortez said in a tweet Monday.
"Just wanted to clarify: are you paying for young men to practice groping & choking members of Congress w/ your payroll, or is this just the standard culture of #TeamMitch? Thanks,” her tweet goes on to say.
Subsequently, the individual who initially posted the photo issued an apology on Instagram that shows a piece of white paper with the message “I was wrong…I’m sorry” and a caption apologizing to Ocasio-Cortez, McConnell and others for the group’s “insensitive actions.”
U.S. & World
While the incident allegedly took place at a picnic hosted by St. Jerome Church in the state that McConnell represents, a priest at the parish confirmed to NBC News that none of the young men seen in the photo attend the church.
