'Most uncomfortable 20 seconds of TV': JD Vance slams AOC over foreign policy stumbles in Munich

WASHINGTON, DC: Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday, February 17, criticized Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) over her appearance at the Munich Security Conference, calling one of her interviews the "most uncomfortable 20 seconds of television" he had ever seen.

The vice president argued that Ocasio-Cortez was unprepared to discuss global issues on the world stage. He questioned whether anyone truly believed she had "thoughtful ideas about the global world order" or what the United States should do in Asia and Europe, answering with a flat "No."

JD Vance rips AOC over Munich interview

During a wide-ranging interview on 'The Story with Martha MacCallum', JD Vance claimed that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez does not fully understand the topics she discusses.

He said she appeared to be "mouthing slogans" written by someone else rather than thinking independently. "It’s a person who doesn't know what she actually thinks," Vance told anchor Martha MacCallum.

He added that many politicians struggle when speaking without prepared remarks, stating, "And I've seen this way too much in Washington with politicians where they are given lines and when you ask them to go outside the lines they were given, they completely fall apart."

JD Vance slams AOC over Venezuela remark

One specific moment that drew significant attention was when Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez criticized President Trump's capture of former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.

While speaking, she mistakenly said that Venezuela is located south of the equator. 

"It is not a remark on who Maduro was as a leader. He canceled elections. He was an anti-democratic leader. That doesn’t mean that we can kidnap a head of state and engage in acts of war just because the nation is below the equator," Ocasio-Cortez said.

Vance used this error to argue that she was repeating lines she did not understand.

JD Vance tells AOC to ‘read a book’ on Taiwan

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez also struggled when asked whether the United States should send troops to help Taiwan if China attacked.

She hesitated several times, saying, "Um, you know, I think that this is such a, you know, I think that this is a um, this is, of course, a, um, very long-standing, um, policy of the United States."

She eventually said the United States should use "economic research" to avoid the problem entirely.

Vance was not impressed, saying, "If I had given that answer, I would say, ‘You know what? Maybe I ought to go read a book about China and Taiwan before I go out on the world stage again.’ I hope that Congresswoman Cortez has the same humility."