Trump slams Rep. Ocasio-Cortez Munich Security Conference performance

President Donald Trump turned up the heat on progressive Democrats during his public remarks Thursday, including criticizing New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for her “horrible” diplomatic efforts at the Munich Security Conference.

“His performance was horrible,” Trump told media aboard Air Force One as he flew to an event in Rome, Georgia, on Thursday. “I was actually surprised. I didn’t know she was stupid.

Ocasio-Cortez joined the Munich Security Conference last weekend and was criticized for a handful of “awkward” and “embarrassing” responses, including when she was asked: “Should and would the United States actually commit American troops to defend Taiwan if China moved?”

The progressive New York Democrat delivered a response that included a handful of pauses, punctuated by repeated repetitions of “uh.”

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Rep. Ocasio-Cortez speaks at the Munich Security Conference, in Munich, Germany, Friday, February 13, 2026. Nuclear deterrence is expected to be a hot topic at the conference. (Alex Kraus/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

She finally responded: “This is, of course, a very long-standing policy of the United States, and I think what we hope is that we want to make sure that we never get to that point, and we want to make sure that we move forward in all of our economic research and our global positions to avoid such a confrontation and that question arise.” »

Vice President JD Vance called the response “embarrassing,” while Social Media’s Corticis compared it to “Kamala grinding her teeth” or her “SELF-DESTRUCT” with her response.

Ocasio-Cortez is seen as a potential 2028 presidential candidate, with Trump’s harsh criticism of the left-wing Democratic lawmaker setting the tone for possible future campaign attacks.

Ocasio-Cortez was keen to play down speculation about 2028 during the security conference.

She said she joined the forum that draws hundreds of world leaders, business titans and celebrities “not because I’m running for president, not because I’ve made a decision about a horse race or a candidacy, but because we need to sound the alarm that a lot of these people in well-pressed suits in this room won’t be around much longer if we don’t do something to address the rampant inequality that fuels far-right populist movements.”

President Donald Trump attends the inaugural meeting of the Peace Council at the United States Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, February 19, 2026. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)

Earlier Thursday, when Trump held the first meeting of the Peace Council, he described Ocasio-Cortez as a weak representation of the United States on the world stage.

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“She couldn’t answer a simple question. And she could have said, ‘Well, I’m studying it and I’ll report back to you next week.’ You know, you can get through this. But she just went ‘uhhh.’ I think this could end her career, because for 25 years, whoever runs against her, I think Susie is going to use this little trick. It wasn’t good. It wasn’t good. It wasn’t natural,” Trump said.

The White House told Fox News Digital on Friday that “Trump is always transparent in his thoughts, and he is right: AOC should be working on behalf of the American people instead of embarrassing our country on the world stage.”

“It is ridiculous that third-rate Congresswoman AOC has decided to frolic in Munich, where no one knows or cares who she is, while New Yorkers are suffering from the Democratic lockdown, which cuts off resources from FEMA, the TSA, the Coast Guard and thousands of federal law enforcement agents,” White House Press Secretary Anna Kelly said.

Trump, later in the day, at a steel event in Georgia, lashed out at Democrats who promoted an “affordability” message. Left-leaning Democrats, like New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, ran a successful 2025 campaign around a message of cutting costs for New Yorkers, including raising taxes on some of the state’s high earners.

U.S. President Donald Trump delivers remarks during a breakfast meeting with governors in the State Dining Room of the White House February 20, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

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Trump criticized the party for using the term, arguing that skyrocketing inflation in the Biden era was caused by Democratic policies.

Trump took aim at Democrats again Thursday for their pro-affordability message, saying he hadn’t heard the media specifically promote affordability in weeks because he “won affordability.”

“I added $9 trillion, and your retirement accounts and your 401Ks are at the highest level they’ve ever been. And then I have to listen to the fake news talking about affordability. Affordability. Have you noticed what word you haven’t heard in the last two weeks? Affordability. Because I won, I won affordability,” he said Thursday from Georgia.

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Fox News Digital reached out to Ocasio-Cortez’s office for additional comment Friday afternoon.