Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has sparked a debate after expressing her belief that popular fast food chain In-N-Out is “overrated”.
The congresswoman, 33, who was in California over the weekend, shared her controversial opinion about the West Coast burger chain during an appearance on the Pod Save America podcast, after she was asked by hosts Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Dan Pfeiffer, and Tommy Vietor whether she planned to visit In-N-Out.
“And, while you’re out here, will you be going to In-N-Out, and is there anything you can do at a federal level to take on the quality of the fries?” Lovett asked, to which Ms Ocasio-Cortez responded: “Thank you for saying this.”
After the host acknowledged that “people need to talk about it,” the politician then reiterated her gratitude for the question. “Thank you for saying this because every time I come out here, everyone’s like: ‘Oh my god, In-N-Out, In-N-Out.’ And I’m like, my controversial, nonpolitical opinion is that it’s overrated.”
Ms Ocasio-Cortez then revealed that her issue with the fast food chain stems from its fries, as she noted that she is a “big fry person” before claiming that In-N-Out has “dry fries”.
“What is this dry fry thing going on here?” she asked.
In response, Lovett claimed that there are “other fries” that In-N-Out can “sample and learn” from.
“And then people say: ‘Order them well done.’ I’ve got to do a special order? Make them right,” the podcast host continued, prompting agreement from Ms Ocasio-Cortez. “Yeah! Thank you! I mean, you said it all, so,” she said.
On Monday, the congresswoman tweeted the clip from the podcast and added: “Someone had to say it!!” along with a fry emoji.
The tweet has since been liked more than 16,000 times, with Ms Ocasio-Cortez’s fans divided by her opinion, with some alleging that her take was “so bad” she should “resign”.
“Resign. People who don’t like In-N-Out should not lead us,” one person tweeted, while another said: “I love you but you lost me.”
“This is very, very disappointing indeed,” someone else said.
However, not everyone was critical of the 33 year old’s stance, as some revealed that they are in agreement with her regarding the fast food chain’s fries.
“I have been saying this for years,” one follower wrote, while someone else said: “100 per cent correct here.”
Despite the criticism over her opinion, Ms Ocasio-Cortez is not the first to express disappointment with the restaurant’s fries, as a food critic for SFGate alleged in 2019 that the fries are undeniably bad in an article titled: “No debate: In-N-Out fries are bad.”
According to the article, the fries are “soggy, sickly beige, under-salted, wilted, and unworthy of being called a fry at all”.
Amid the controversy over In-N-Out’s fries, others took the opportunity to offer some fast food advice, with another person tweeting: “Congresswoman, have you ever had Whataburger?”
The question prompted a response from Ms Ocasio-Cortez, who revealed that she “LOVES” Whataburger.
As of now, In-N-Out has not responded to the congresswoman’s criticism.
The Independent has contacted In-N-out for comment.
