Vice President JD Vance was asked by Fox News star Brett Baier on Friday about the potential of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) running for president in 2028.
When Baier asked Vance if he sees Ocasio-Cortez as the new leader of the Democratic Party, Vance laughed and said: “Oh man, I don’t know. President AOC, the stuff of nightmares, Brett. Thank you, you’ve ruined my sleep for this evening.”
Vice President @JDVance speaks to @BretBaier about the prospects of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez launching a presidential campaign, and the state of the Democratic Party. pic.twitter.com/OZ3YlwgZZH
— Fox News (@FoxNews) May 3, 2025
Vance added: “They don’t have real leadership. That’s why I’m not too concerned about 2028. Because if I wake up in a fantasy world where the Democrats actually have constructive ideas about how to govern this country, that will actually be a good thing. But in the world that we live in, where they’re anti-Trump about everything, the politics of 2028 will take care of themselves.”
[NOTE: President Donald Trump‘s recent demurral over speculation that he would try to run again in 2028 makes Vance among the early favorites to win the 2028 GOP nomination.]
Ocasio-Cortez has been touring the country and speaking at “Fight Oligarchy” rallies with U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT).
As seen below, AOC said at a recent rally: “On the way here, we got a very interesting piece of news: some of the Republicans whose districts we visited just warned their leadership that they’re not sure they can vote for Medicaid cuts now. That’s you, Montana. That’s you, Colorado. That’s you, Arizona. That’s you, California. That’s you—the people. We’ve got them on their back foot. But our job is not done. We will rally every corner of the U.S. We will not stop until they actually vote no. We’re not going to let them trick us with gestures and strongly worded letters. I want to see the no vote on the floor.”
AOC: On the way here, we got a very interesting piece of news: some of the Republicans whose districts we visited just warned their leadership that they’re not sure they can vote for Medicaid cuts now.
— Acyn (@Acyn) April 16, 2025
That’s you, Montana.
That’s you, Colorado.
That’s you, Arizona.
That’s you,… pic.twitter.com/qnkza5zGJU
Ocasio-Cortez is addressing the provision in the GOP budget that directs the House Energy & Commerce Committee (E&C), which has jurisdiction over Medicaid, to find $880 billion in cuts. Though the legislation does not specifically mention Medicaid, experts widely agree that a cut of that size could only be accomplished by targeting Medicaid funds.
KFF concludes that “Federal cuts of $880 billion over 10 years (or $88 billion per year) would represent 29% of state-financed Medicaid spending per resident.”
Providing detail to illustrate the potential impact of the contemplated cuts, KFF writes: “To further put the proposed federal cuts in perspective, they are equivalent to all Medicaid spending on 3 million seniors and people with disabilities (18% of enrollees in that group), 14 million other adults (38% in that group), or 22 million children enrolled in Medicaid (76% of that group).” “
