This could change everything for Democrats.
As the midterms are fast approaching, New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a leading voice among progressives, noted in an interview with NY1 on Thursday (March 24) that President Joe Biden is experiencing a “collapse of support among young people.”
According to the New York Post, Ocasio-Cortez told NY1, that Democrats “need to acknowledge that this isn’t just about middle of the road,” stating that there is an “increasingly narrow band of independent voters.”
Instead, she said that dwindling support came from the “collapse of support among young people, among Democratic base, feeling like they worked overtime to get this president elected and they aren’t necessarily being seen.”
For years, AOC has been critical of Biden’s more moderate approach to politics, telling New York Magazine in January 2020, before the Democratic presidential primaries, that “in any other country, Joe Biden and I would not be in the same party.”
Recently, her criticism for Biden stemmed from what she perceived as his decision to “gloss over” critical issues in his maiden State of the Union address.
Two of the topics AOC focused her criticism on included “the crisis in education” and student loan debt.
Following the SOTU address, AOC told MSNBC: “I do think there are some things that were left unsaid in which we’re really gonna have to work on as a party.”
When he was on the campaign trail, Biden promised that, when in power, he would cancel $10,000 student loan debt. Holding the majority in the upper and lower chamber, the President has failed to carry out this promise.
However, AOC says Biden doesn’t need help from Congress. “It’s Biden’s power and ability to cancel student loan debt, and nobody else’s,” she told NY1.
Young voters were instrumental in Biden’s 2020 victory, leading former President Donald Trump by a 25-point margin among the 18 to 29 demographic. The turnout amongst this crowd also increased by 11 points, from 39 percent in 2016 to 50 percent in 2020.
