AOC fires back at Fox News: So disconnected that they think paying a living wage is ‘communism’

Fox & Friends host Pete Hegseth probably hasn’t yet felt the Twitter wrath of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, but thanks to some comments he made on the show this Monday, he’s now going viral.

In Monday’s segment, co-host Griff Jenkins zeroed in on AOC’s push to redistribute her office’s budget in order to pay her low-level staffers a living wage, bumping their yearly salaries up to $52,000. According to his co-host, AOC’s move was an example of her mimicking “communism and socialism.”

“She’s basically announcing that she’s going to redistribute the money appropriated to her congressional office to make sure that the entry-level staffers get a fair share of the money,” Jenkins said.

Jenkins then gave a rundown on how he thinks she getting the money, which he said would take away from the salaries of higher-level staffers. That’s when Hegseth chimed in.

“It’s actually socialism and communism on display,” Hegseth declared.

The comments prompted a response from AOC, who took to Twitter and said the Fox crew, along with the “GOP,” have no idea what they’re talking about.

“The GOP is so disconnected from the basic idea that people should be paid enough to live that Fox actually thinks me paying a living wage in my office is ‘communism,'” she tweeted this morning. “So the next time GOP screams ‘socialist,’ know that’s their go-to attack for any common-sense, humane policy.”

According to Roll Call, AOC’s pay policy for her staffers is “an almost unheard-of amount for many of the 20-somethings whose long hours make House and Senate offices run.”

The policy, which has not been previously reported, is the latest sign that Ocasio-Cortez and other progressive Democrats intend to buck a long-established trend of ostentatious austerity in congressional offices. Government watchdog groups say deep cuts to office and committee budgets have contributed to a lack of diversity in Hill offices, high turnover and congressional brain drain.

The Fox panel was referring to an earlier tweet from AOC in which she declared that the pay raise amounts to “one of the highest entry-level salaries on the Hill.”

“We pinch pennies elsewhere, but it’s worth every dime to pay a living wage,” she tweeted.

Featured image: screen grab via NBC News/Fox News

Sky Palma

Before launching DeadState back in 2012, Sky Palma has been blogging about politics, social issues and religion for over a decade. He lives in Los Angeles and also enjoys Brazilian jiu jitsu, chess, music and art.