Nancy Pelosi denies ‘tensions’ with AOC amid talk of 'forceful' leader's 2028 presidential bid

WASHINGTON, DC: Nancy Pelosi rejected claims of friction with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, describing the congresswoman as a “star” as questions swirl about her potential 2028 presidential ambitions. 

The former House speaker emphasized party unity and declined to speculate on future White House bids. 

Nancy Pelosi rejects speculation of rift with AOC

Pelosi addressed suggestions of earlier “public tensions” between Ocasio-Cortez and Democratic leadership during an interview with MS NOW. 

She pushed back on the notion that her and Ocasio-Cortez had been at odds. 

“All I said to people who say, ‘you have this tension,’ we didn’t have any tensions. All I said is, if you want to be a legislator and pass bills, it’s important to have the votes to do it."

"It doesn’t help to go online and criticize the people that you want to have because they’re not as progressive as you are. She’s been a star, eloquent, forceful, and the rest. And she gets along very well with Hakeem Jeffries. They have a New York connection, but I’m so glad she’s here.”

Nancy Pelosi stays silent on AOC's potential presidential bid

Pelosi also declined to weigh in on whether Ocasio-Cortez should pursue a White House bid in 2028, noting she has fielded similar questions about other Democrats, including California Governor Gavin Newsom.

“Do you know how many times I’ve been asked that question about so many people, mostly Gavin Newsom because he was here as well. I always just leave those things up to people, and when they want my help or my suggestion, they’ll ask me," she said. 

Pelosi added, "But in the meantime, I wish them all well because our party has is a big tent. We have lots of opinions within it. But I will say this, we must win this election." 

AOC addresses 2028 election talk

Appearing on panels at the Munich Security Conference, Ocasio-Cortez fielded questions about global conflicts and US diplomacy, while brushing aside speculation about her own presidential ambitions.

“So when you run for president, are you going to impose a wealth tax or a billionaire’s tax?” New York Times correspondent Katrin Bennhold asked.

Ocasio-Cortez laughed and responded: “I don’t think that anyone and that we don’t have to wait for any one president to impose a wealth tax. I think that it needs to be done expeditiously.”

When asked to identify the “single-biggest” shift under President Trump, she sought clarification before offering a broader critique of changes in US foreign policy across administrations.

“The single-biggest?” Ocasio-Cortez asked for clarification, laughing slightly.

“Well, I think zooming out beyond just this presidential administration,” she continued.

“I think that what we are seeing is between President Trump’s first administration pulling out of long standing international agreements; then you have President Biden, who is opting back into some of them, such as, for example, with the Paris Climate Accords, and then you have President Trump that’s elected again, I think what we are seeing now is this idea that US foreign policy is and some of our more basic and foundational values-based commitments seem to be enacted based on the partisanship of whoever is elected.”