While President Donald Trump‘s attacks on four left-leaning politicians are grabbing headlines, some are still wondering if this is enough to put an end to the intra-party drama in the Democratic party.
The animosity between New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has been known for quite a while now, and it does not seem like things are calming down in any way.
Entirely, on the contrary, the two have ramped up their arguments, and observers have seen even more aggression on both sides.
And it looks like this attitude has spilled over to other people close to the two politicians, too.
A recent example would be Saikat Chakrabarti, the chief of staff for the woman now known as AOC, who seems to be the one truly trying to start a fight with Pelosi.
He recently made some harsh accusations about her, accusing her of being weak in her position of leadership, and even went as far as to wear a T-shirt that seemed to sympathize with an Indian nationalist who is known for his Nazi ideologies.
Many have been critical of the attitude displayed by Chakrabarti recently, with some pointing out that he is supposed to be the moderator in those conflicts, not the one fanning them up.
A Democratic insider stated: “He and AOC are looking for enemies, they are looking for a fight, they are looking to create controversy. And it’s working. It’s raising money, getting more media, raising stature, increasing email lists, increasing profile.”
Others have questioned the intentions of Ocasio-Cortez if she is willing to work with someone who gets heated up so easily, and there have been various reports of people losing their general trust in the politician.
Ocasio-Cortez has not commented on the situation at this point, although she would likely have no issue with the current attitude of those around her, judging by her own comments made in public recently. In any case, not much has changed on that front in recent weeks.
However, some in the party are urging the liberal firebrand to focus on the bigger picture. A Democratic activist stated: “Rep AOC…I applaud your efforts on many fronts. However, here is the immediate big picture…the divisiveness, name-calling, and backbiting in the House is handing 2020 to Trump. This is his and the GOP’s game plan….sow discord. To me, unity within my party in congress is paramount to winning 2020. Your goals are praiseworthy, but the issue NOW is get rid of Trump, keep the House and gain seats in the Senate. If we do that, you’ll have a more sane haven to move us forward. In the climate now…not at all. Think about it.”
Will AOC and The Squad listen?
