Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) struggled to answer a direct question about whether the United States should commit troops to defend Taiwan if China launches an invasion, delivering a halting response during a high-profile panel at the Munich Security Conference.
Ocasio-Cortez appeared alongside Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and U.S. Ambassador to NATO Matt Whitaker for a discussion focused on American foreign policy.
When asked whether the United States should deploy troops to defend Taiwan, the congresswoman did not provide a clear position.
Instead, AOC, who is widely expected to launch a 2028 presidential campaign, responded with a rambling word salad non-answer.
“I think that, uh, this is such a — you know, I think that this is a, umm — this is, of course, a uh, a very longstanding, umm, policy of the United States,” she said.
“Uh, and I think that what we are hoping for is that we want to make sure we never get to that point, and we want to make sure we are moving in all of our economic research and our global positions to avoid any such confrontation and for that question to even arise.”
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Framing China as “Competition,” Not Conflict
Earlier in the discussion, Ocasio-Cortez downplayed the geopolitical threat posed by Beijing.
She described the U.S.-China relationship primarily as competitive rather than confrontational.
“I think China is, of course, an ascending global power, growing very quickly, acting in its own self-interests,” she said.
“And oftentimes in Washington, there’s this frame between conflict and competition.
“I think sometimes, depending on what’s happening, that rhetoric can get a little conflict-driven, and I think that it’s really a question of competition.”
Her remarks come as tensions between the United States and China remain a central national security concern, particularly regarding Taiwan and Beijing’s military posture in the Indo-Pacific.
Confusion During Populism Panel
During a separate panel on the global rise of populism, Ocasio-Cortez attempted to critique President Donald Trump’s foreign-policy approach with a sweeping statement that drew confusion from observers.
“I think what we are seeking is a return to a rules-based order that eliminates the hypocrisies around when too often in the West, we look the other way for inconvenient populations to act out these paradoxes, whether it is kidnapping a foreign head of state, whether it is threatening our allies to colonize Greenland, whether it is looking the other way in a genocide,” AOC said.
“Hypocrisies are vulnerabilities, and they threaten democracies globally.”
Commentators mocked the remarks as unclear and unfocused, drawing comparisons to former Vice President Kamala Harris’s widely criticized public statements during the 2024 campaign.
Whitmer Also Defers on Foreign Policy
Whitmer, another Democrat frequently mentioned as a potential 2028 presidential contender, similarly avoided offering a detailed response when asked how the war between Russia and Ukraine should end.
After attempting to pass the question to Whitaker, she ultimately said:
“The two that I am on the panel with are much more steeped in foreign policy than a governor is.
“I do think that Ukraine’s independence, keeping their land mass and having the support of all the allies, I think, is the goal from my vantage point.
“Go ahead, ambassador, do a better job.”
2028 Spotlight Intensifies
Both Ocasio-Cortez and Whitmer are widely viewed as possible Democrat presidential candidates in 2028.
Their performances in Munich, particularly on core national-security questions, are likely to fuel further scrutiny.
It comes as the party looks ahead to its next generation of leadership.
The exchange underscored a broader concern among critics that prominent Democrat figures positioning themselves for national office remain unprepared to articulate clear positions on the most consequential foreign-policy challenges facing the United States.
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