'What a difference a brain makes': Trump mocks AOC's intelligence while praising Vance and Rubio

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump mocked Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez while elevating Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio during a White House interaction with the press on Monday, March 22. 

His remarks sharpened his attacks on Democrats' younger leaders like Ocasio-Cortez and Rep Ilhan Omar.

Trump calls Vance and Rubio 'fantastic', mocks Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

Asked about Vance and Rubio's work, Trump said both men were doing "a fantastic job."

"Our Secretary is fantastic. I think he's maybe going to go down as the best ever," Trump said.

He added that Vance was "fantastic" and called him a "very smart guy" who "did a great job" after watching his news conference from Switzerland.

Trump then pivoted to Democrats, saying, "When I look at the Democrats, I call them the Dumbocrats."

Turning to Ocasio-Cortez, he said, "AOC has no idea, what a simple question, what happened when she was over in Switzerland! Then I watched somebody like JD or Marco... What a difference, what a difference, what a difference a brain makes."

He also mocked Omar after saying one of the party's leaders referred to World War II as "World War 11." Trump repeated his claim that the Minnesota congresswoman married her brother to get into the country illegally, offering no evidence to support the allegation. 

Trump's previous swipe at Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez

The comments marked another attack by Trump on the New York Democrat.

In previous remarks about Ocasio-Cortez's appearance at the Munich Security Conference, Trump said, "Her performance was horrible."

"I was surprised actually, I didn't know she was stupid," he added at the time.

The Republican leader argued that her answer to a question involving Taiwan was potentially "career-ending" and said he would have simply answered, "It's none of your business right now."

"It's war. When it comes to war you don't talk about your strategies," Trump said then. "She had no idea. I don't think she knew what Taiwan was."

JD Vance also criticized Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Munich performance

Vance also mocked AOC over "embarrassing" moments at the Munich Security Conference after she reportedly struggled to answer foreign policy questions. 

"If I had given that answer, I would say, 'You know what? Maybe you ought to go read a book about China and Taiwan before I go out on the world stage again,'" the vice president said during a Fox News appearance.