Fox News host Tucker Carlson took aim again at New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a favourite punching bag of the conservative pundit.
Mr Carlson called the Latina Democrat a “rich, entitled white lady” while discussing her career and persona. There is a new biography of the 32-year-old lawmaker – whom Mr Carlson referred to as “Sandy Cortez” – coming out next week, published by New York Magazine.
“There is no place on Earth outside of American colleges and newsrooms where Sandy Cortez would be recognized as a quote, woman of color, because she’s not! She’s a rich, entitled white lady,” he said. “She’s the pampered obnoxious ski bunny in the matching snowsuit, who tells you to pull up your mask, while you’re standing in the lift line at Jackson Hole. They’re all the same. It doesn’t matter what shade they are.”
He not only called her “neurotic” and “silly” but also pointed to an Instagram video in which she tells the camera that she’s “alone today”.
“Is it just us or does that sound like an invitation to a booty call?” Mr Carlson said. “Maybe one step from ‘What are you wearing?’ Either way it’s a little strange, definitely over-sharing.”
He also claimed that the 32-year-old was “far more frivolous than any 1950s housewife ever was. June Cleaver was a more serious person. At least she made dinner.”
The outspoken New York representative had plenty to say in response, however, taking to Twitter to call the TV pundit “a creep”.
Sharing a video of Mr Carlson’s comments, she wrote: “This is the type of stuff you say when your name starts with a P and ends with dejo” – referring to a Spanish-language slur for an idiot.
“Any man that talks like this will treat any woman like this,” she continued. “Doesn’t matter if you’re Republican, Democrat, or neither, this is clearly not a safe person to leave alone w/ women.
“Once again, the existence of a wife or daughters doesn’t make a man good. And this one is basura,” she wrote, which translates to “trash” in Spanish.
“Remember when the right wing had a meltdown when I suggested they exhibit obsessive impulses around young women?” she tweeted. “Well now Tucker Carlson is wishing for ... this on national TV.
“You’re a creep bro. If you’re this easy w/ sexual harassment on air, how are you treating your staff?”
Mr Carlson, who had teased his show on Twitter as having “breaking Sandy Cortez” news, also returned to the platform an hour after AOC’s last tweet about him.
Sharing a Fox News video of himself disparaging the new AOC book, he tweeted: “Radiant in white. Bathed in the glow of holy righteousness. A prophet for our times. Imagine Isaiah, but with nails to match the handbag. That’s how New York Magazine describes AOC.”
