Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said she has not ruled out a 2028 presidential run during an Aug. 9 appearance on ABC News' "This Week," where she also discussed her decision to freeze her eggs, a move she revealed on social media a day earlier.
"I haven’t ruled out the possibility, and I’m very humbled to the tremendous amount of support out there," Ocasio-Cortez said when asked by host Jonathan Karl about a July University of New Hampshire poll that showed the New York representative atop the potential 2028 Democratic presidential primary field in the state.
"I think that we have a responsibility to remain focused on the midterms and not on our individual aspirations or plans," she added.
When asked if she would consider challenging fellow New
York Democrat and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, who is up for reelection in 2028, Ocasio-Cortez, also known as AOC, said that "anything is possible at this juncture."
Speculation about a potential run from the congresswoman has grown, especially as candidates from the Democratic Party's progressive flank have made inroads during the second Trump term. Vice President JD Vance said "it’s got to be AOC" when asked who the leading 2028 Democratic candidate would be in a June interview on "The Michael Knowles Show."
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he was "excited to see what decision she makes" when asked by the New York Times in July about a potential presidential run by the congresswoman.
Ocasio-Cortez has previously stated that her ambitions are not tied to an office.
"They assume that my ambition is a title or a seat," Ocasio-Cortez said at a May event in Chicago with Democratic strategist David Axelrod. "And my ambition is way bigger than that. My ambition is to change this country."
'Time of renewal for the Democratic Party'
The appearance follows the primary victory of progressive Democrat Abdul El-Sayed over Rep. Hayley Stevens, who was backed by Schumer and other prominent party figures.
"I think that we are in a time of renewal for the Democratic Party," Ocasio-Cortez said. "We have really an ascendance of a young, inspiring, exciting electorate, energizing wave of candidates that I think really inject a new energy to the Democratic Party and add to the toolbox of candidates that we have to win the midterm elections hopefully in November."
She also noted that the newcomers "answer to no master," a trait that she said makes their campaigns "stronger."
"They are not beholden to any corporate interest or any party boss and they are completely independent, which allows them to be responsive to their communities and the people that elected them,” Ocasio-Cortez said.
AOC addresses decision to freeze eggs
The U.S. lawmaker also addressed her decision to freeze her eggs in the interview, which she announced on her Instagram stories Aug. 8.
Ocasio-Cortez said in the announcement that she chose to share her decision "to show more depictions of women having full lives in every context and every choice."
She pointed to the Trump administration's attacks on access to reproductive care as playing a role in the decision on "This Week."
"In this political environment where this administration is denying reproductive care to women across the country, from abortion rights to the ability to carry out a healthy pregnancy, I think it’s important for us as leaders to have these conversations and share these processes, especially for working women across the country and normalize them," Ocasio-Cortez said.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ocasio-Cortez says she hasn't ruled out running for president in 2028
