Trump Predicts AOC Will Run for President in 2028 as Democrats Scramble to Shed Far-Left Positions
President Donald Trump is predicting that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will launch a presidential campaign in 2028, arguing that the New York democratic socialist is already showing signs she has ambitions beyond Congress.
Trump made the prediction during an interview with Fox News while visiting Long Island on Friday. Asked directly whether he believes Ocasio-Cortez will seek the White House after his second term, the president responded, “I think so.”
Speculation surrounding Ocasio-Cortez’s political future has intensified as Democrats begin looking toward the wide-open 2028 presidential contest. The 36-year-old congresswoman has built one of the largest national profiles in the Democratic Party and has long been viewed as a potential presidential or Senate candidate.
Trump’s prediction came as he discussed Ocasio-Cortez’s recent declaration that “woke 1.0 was crazy.” The president argued that the remark is part of a broader effort by far-left Democrats to distance themselves from political positions that have become increasingly difficult to defend before a national electorate.
Trump specifically pointed to crime and sanctuary cities. He argued that progressive Democrats spent years embracing sanctuary policies but are now attempting to moderate their rhetoric as they recognize the political consequences of those positions.
Ocasio-Cortez has been one of the country’s most prominent supporters of sanctuary policies and has frequently battled Trump over immigration enforcement. Trump predicted that sanctuary cities will increasingly disappear as voters experience what he described as the disastrous consequences of refusing to cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
The president also turned his attention to Michigan Democratic Senate nominee Abdul El-Sayed, another progressive whose previous statements have attracted Republican scrutiny. Trump mocked El-Sayed over a 2021 essay in which he connected football with “toxic masculinity,” colonialism and slavery.
Trump argued that attacking football is particularly damaging for a politician seeking statewide office in Michigan, home to one of the country’s most passionate college football cultures. El-Sayed attended the University of Michigan and previously played football himself in high school.
Ocasio-Cortez has not announced a presidential campaign. Her recent decision to publicly document the process of freezing her eggs, however, has generated additional speculation about how she is planning her personal and political future ahead of 2028.
The New York congresswoman would enter a potentially crowded Democratic field if she decides to run. Gavin Newsom, Kamala Harris, Gretchen Whitmer, Pete Buttigieg and other prominent Democrats have all been discussed as possible contenders to succeed Trump.
Trump’s comments make clear that Republicans are already preparing for the possibility of an Ocasio-Cortez candidacy. Rather than viewing her recent attempts to distance herself from unpopular progressive rhetoric as a genuine ideological shift, Trump is portraying them as an early effort to make herself more palatable to voters before a potential run for the White House.