AOC’s “Crazy” Woke Era Comes Back Around

Woman in a white suit sitting backstage with a folder — Photo: Rachael Warriner / Shutterstock

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez brushed off her own history of demanding police departments be defunded, laughing it off as “Woke 1 was crazy” while defending a fellow progressive candidate’s identical past remarks.

Quick Take

Ocasio-Cortez defended Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong’s old “defund the police” comments without giving her an endorsement.
She joked about “Woke 1,” suggesting an earlier wave of far-left rhetoric was excessive.
Ocasio-Cortez herself said in 2020 that “defunding police means defunding police,” rejecting budget tricks.
Other Democrats, including Bernie Sanders and Joe Manchin, have tried to distance the party from the same slogan.
Even AOC-backed candidates like Zohran Mamdani have walked back “defund” language as crime became a bigger political liability.

AOC Waves Away Her Own Radical Record

Ocasio-Cortez defended Wisconsin gubernatorial hopeful Francesca Hong’s past comments calling to defund the police, telling reporters voters should judge candidates on what they say now, not what they said before. She joked that “Woke 1 was crazy,” a flip dismissal of the very movement she helped build. She still stopped short of endorsing Hong outright.

The comment lands awkwardly given Ocasio-Cortez’s own record. Back in June 2020, she did not treat “defund the police” as loose talk. She flatly rejected New York City’s proposed one billion dollar police budget cut as a fake compromise, saying “defunding police means defunding police” and insisting “the fight to defund policing continues”.

From Suburb Comparisons To Budget Fights

Ocasio-Cortez once described her vision of defunded policing by comparing it to wealthy suburbs, saying affluent white communities “already live in a world” where they fund youth programs and health services instead of police. She backed the broader movement publicly after George Floyd’s death, calling it a real policy solution rather than a slogan.

She kept pushing the idea even after Democrats lost House seats in the 2020 election. Several members of her own party blamed “defund the police” for costing them races, but Ocasio-Cortez defended the mantra anyway, arguing too much money already goes to policing. That stubbornness is part of why her sudden joke about “Woke 1” stands out now.

Democrats Have Been Running From This Slogan For Years

Ocasio-Cortez is far from alone in trying to rewrite the story. Senator Bernie Sanders claimed he doesn’t know anyone in politics who wants to defund police, a statement Fox News noted ignores his own progressive allies like Ocasio-Cortez. Senator Joe Manchin went further, saying flatly that not one Senate Democrat supports defunding police, a direct shot at the Squad’s messaging.

The retreat shows up in candidates too. New York mayoral candidate Zohran Mamdani, once backed by Ocasio-Cortez, has walked back his 2020 call to “dismantle” police departments, now saying he will work with police to fight violent crime. Ocasio-Cortez even blamed the 2020 pandemic-era “rhetoric” for her own past support of the movement, telling ABC News host Jonathan Karl the moment pushed her further left than she otherwise would have gone.

Why This Still Matters To Voters

Conservatives have long argued “defund the police” was never just a slogan but a real push to gut law enforcement funding in cities already struggling with crime. Ocasio-Cortez’s own 2020 statement rejecting “budget tricks” backs that up. She wanted actual cuts to police presence, not symbolic ones. Calling that era “crazy” now doesn’t erase the record or the damage many argue it did to public safety.

Voters heading into upcoming elections deserve to know whether candidates like Hong have genuinely changed their views or are simply repackaging the same ideas with softer branding. Ocasio-Cortez’s own shifting language over five years suggests the party is managing image more than principle. Her refusal to fully endorse Hong shows even she may sense the political risk hasn’t gone away.

……………During an August 9, 2026 interview on ABC's This Week, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC)used the phrase "Woke 1 was crazy" to brush off fringe, ultra-left statements made by past socialist candidates. When asked if the progressive movement went too far with…

— JV (@joveg8) August 10, 2026

The debate over what “defund the police” actually meant, a budget cut, a reallocation, or a movement identity, has never been fully settled. What is settled is that Ocasio-Cortez championed the phrase loudly for years before deciding it was easier to laugh about than defend.