Our favorite anti-capitalist Congresswoman Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has come under criticism by conservatives for hawking wildly overpriced campaign merchandise printed with tone-deaf, ironic slogans such as “Tax the Rich.”
Items in AOC’s official online store include sweaters, shirts, cups, and even dog collars and express other policies the recently reelected representative has become infamous for supporting, including “Abolish ICE,” “Medicare For All,” “The Green New Deal.”
It is the irony-soaked “Tax The Rich” sweatshirt that has gone viral in conservative circles, however, as the sweatshirt is priced at a whopping $58.
Several conservative commentators took Ocasio-Cortez to task for the price of the sweater which, to an actual poor person the congresswoman claims to champion, could mean the difference between the lights staying on or food being on the table.
“Only the rich can afford this idiotic sweatshirt,” tweeted Ben Shapiro.
Only the rich can afford this idiotic sweatshirt pic.twitter.com/PpVaBl8J6V
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) December 3, 2020
Young Americans for Liberty called the sale of the sweatshirt “peak irony.”
A $60 dollar sweatshirt sold by a socialist attacking capitalism really is peak irony https://t.co/MB7iqZgyPZ
— Young Americans for Liberty (@YALiberty) December 3, 2020
Another Twitter user pointed out that AOC herself, as a well-compensated politician, is “the rich.”
@AOC According to your salary, you're well inside the top 5% earners. YOU ARE the RICH! #AOC pic.twitter.com/xI9BHH6TZ3
— RazzleDMX (@DmxRazzle) December 3, 2020
Dinesh D’Souza pondered why the “greedy, selfish capitalist pig” wasn’t simply giving the sweaters away for free.
The socialist @AOC is selling sweatshirts denouncing capitalism at a big markup. Shouldn’t she be giving them away for free? Greedy, selfish capitalist pig!
— Dinesh D'Souza (@DineshDSouza) December 3, 2020
PragerU pointed out that AOC is actually on point because “telling working class people they’re fighting for them and then ripping them off is Marxism 101.”
Honestly, @AOC nailed it with the $58 "tax the rich" sweatshirt. Elites telling working class people they're fighting for them and then ripping them off is Marxism 101
— PragerU (@prageru) December 3, 2020
Even self-avowed fans of AOC pointed out the irony of the overpriced merch:
the irony of a $60 sweatshirt that says tax the rich… aoc why are you doing this? we love you but why
— Lucy Moon 🌻 (@iamnotlucymoon) December 3, 2020
As she typically does, AOC “clapped back” at the conservative backlash, claiming that her merch prices (which help to fund her campaign) are justified because the gear is union-made in America—adding an incorrect jab that President Trump’s merch is foreign-made.
“Republicans are freaking out bc we don’t use slave-wage labor for merch that funds grassroots organizing. But what’s the difference between Trump’s merch and ours? Ours is made in the US,” she claimed.
Republicans are freaking out bc we don’t use slave-wage labor for merch that funds grassroots organizing.
But what’s the difference between Trump’s merch and ours?
Ours is made in the US. 🇺🇸
(& for GOP who joke that we shld give 👕 for free, we actually do – just volunteer 😉) https://t.co/35DnbFYQyC
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) December 3, 2020
She couldn’t be more wrong. While the market is saturated with knock-offs made in China, every single MAGA hat, t-shirt, or other piece of Trump campaign merchandise is “proudly made in the USA.”
Ocasio-Cortez also added “As Complained About on Fox News” to the product description for the sweatshirt, indicating a stark lack of self-awareness or regret for the faux-pas. Color me shocked.
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