Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) endorsed presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders on Saturday with a massive rally that marked the Vermont senator's return to the campaign trail following a heart attack earlier this month.
"I call him 'tio Bernie'," Ocasio-Cortez, 30, said at the rally in her Queens, New York constituency that drew over 25,000 people. "Tio" means "uncle" in Spanish, the language of Puerto Rico where Ocasio-Cortez, the youngest House of Representatives member, has roots.
Follow Israel Hayom on Facebook and Twitter
"We right now have one of the best Democratic presidential primary fields in a generation, and much of that is thanks to work that Bernie Sanders has done in his entire life," said Ocasio-Cortez, who considers herself a "Democratic socialist," as does Sanders who has been in Congress since 1991.
"I am more than ready, more ready than ever, to carry on with you the epic struggle that we face today," Sanders said when he took the stage.
Ocasio-Cortez joined her fellow first-year congresswoman Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), another member of the new Democratic guard, in endorsing Sanders.
Omar has been repeatedly criticized for her anti-Israel views and her calls for a boycott of the Jewish state. Just recently, she stirred controversy after she insinuated the pro-Israel lobby in Washington was all but buying votes.
She was also slammed for comparing Israel to Nazi Germany. Omar and Ocasio-Cortez are part of a group of four female Democratic lawmakers nicknamed "The Squad" that has advanced a socialist agenda and has been a prominent critic of Israel, along with fellow "squad" member Rep. Rashida Tlaib from Michigan.
"The only reason that I had any hope in launching a long-shot campaign for Congress is because Bernie Sanders proved that you can run a grassroots campaign and win," Ocasio-Cortez said in her speech.
Sanders, 78, is known for consistently refusing political financing from corporations.
"When I was a waitress, and when it was time for me to graduate college with student debt, Bernie Sanders was one of the only ones that said no person should be graduating with life-crushing debt," Ocasio-Cortez said in an impassioned speech.
The first round of voting to select a Democratic White House nominee will take place in February, in Iowa.
This article was originally published by i24NEWS.
