{"id":45676,"date":"2026-08-15T02:17:20","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T21:17:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=45676"},"modified":"2026-08-15T02:17:20","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T21:17:20","slug":"trump-says-ocasio-cortez-is-backing-away-from-defund-police-stance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=45676","title":{"rendered":"Trump says Ocasio-Cortez is backing away from defund police stance"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div id=\"beyondwords-wrapper\" data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"beyondwords-wrapper\">\n<p><span class=\"label-bg\">NEW<\/span>You can now listen to Fox News articles!\n  <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"speakable\">President Donald Trump said Friday that far-left Democrats like <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_7474579\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/person\/alexandria-ocasio-cortez\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez<\/a>, D-N.Y., are now trying to distance themselves from some of the radical positions they once championed.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"speakable\">In an interview with Fox News correspondent Alexis McAdams, Trump was asked about Ocasio-Cortez&#8217;s perceived shift away from her earlier calls to defund police departments, as well as other soft-on-crime policies.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;If you really look at it, they&#8217;re all saying the same thing,&#8221; Trump said of progressive Democrats. &#8220;They&#8217;re all trying to disavow themselves from what they said about crime and, well, they&#8217;re saying, \u2018We love <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_7474580\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/topic\/sanctuary-cities\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">sanctuary cities<\/a>.\u2019&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_7474581\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/media\/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-shrugs-off-past-defund-police-comments-joking-woke-1-crazy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>ALEXANDRIA OCASIO-CORTEZ SHRUGS OFF PAST &#8216;DEFUND THE POLICE&#8217; COMMENTS, JOKING &#8216;WOKE 1 WAS CRAZY&#8217;<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<div data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"image-ct inline\">\n<div class=\"m\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/343\/192\/aoc-donald-trump-2.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/686\/384\/aoc-donald-trump-2.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"192\" width=\"343\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/672\/378\/aoc-donald-trump-2.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1344\/756\/aoc-donald-trump-2.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"378\" width=\"672\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/931\/523\/aoc-donald-trump-2.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1862\/1046\/aoc-donald-trump-2.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"523\" width=\"931\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/720\/405\/aoc-donald-trump-2.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1440\/810\/aoc-donald-trump-2.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"405\" width=\"720\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/1200\/675\/aoc-donald-trump-2.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1\" alt=\"Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez speaking and President Donald Trump listening\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n<div class=\"info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<p><span>Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is pictured speaking during the Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026. At right is President Donald Trump speaking to reporters onboard Air Force One on Monday, Feb. 16, 2026.<\/span> <span>(Liesa Johannssen\/Reuters; Mandel Ngan\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">During an interview with ABC&#8217;s &#8220;This Week&#8221; on Sunday, the congresswoman attempted to dismiss the extreme rhetoric of the so-called &#8220;<a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_7474582\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/media\/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-shrugs-off-past-defund-police-comments-joking-woke-1-crazy\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Woke 1<\/a>&#8221; era.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">The term is used by some progressive politicians to describe the pandemic-era social justice activism and far-left political rhetoric around 2019 and 2020, when some called for the defunding of law enforcement agencies, the <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_7474583\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/media\/mamdani-clashes-democratic-socialists-push-abolish-police-prisons\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">abolition of police and prisons<\/a>, the elimination of cash bail, as well as open borders and unchecked migration.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Trump said some Democrats are now trying to distance themselves from <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_7474584\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/exclusive-legal-group-tells-nypd-cops-contact-ice-despite-blue-citys-sanctuary-rules\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">sanctuary cities<\/a>, which generally don&#8217;t cooperate with federal immigration authorities.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;I think you&#8217;re going to see sanctuary cities start to end, because sanctuary cities are a disaster. And somebody like her, she was big for sanctuary cities,&#8221; Trump said of Ocasio-Cortez. &#8220;They cause crime.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_7474585\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/exclusive-legal-group-tells-nypd-cops-contact-ice-despite-blue-citys-sanctuary-rules\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>EXCLUSIVE: LEGAL GROUP TELLS NYPD COPS THEY CAN CONTACT ICE DIRECTLY DESPITE BLUE CITY&#8217;S SANCTUARY RULES<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<div data-layout-index=\"5\" class=\"image-ct inline\">\n<div class=\"m\"><picture><source media=\"(max-width: 767px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/343\/192\/democrats-worried-about-abolish-ice-slogan.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/686\/384\/democrats-worried-about-abolish-ice-slogan.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"192\" width=\"343\"><source media=\"(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/672\/378\/democrats-worried-about-abolish-ice-slogan.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1344\/756\/democrats-worried-about-abolish-ice-slogan.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"378\" width=\"672\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/931\/523\/democrats-worried-about-abolish-ice-slogan.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1862\/1046\/democrats-worried-about-abolish-ice-slogan.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"523\" width=\"931\"><source media=\"(min-width: 1280px)\" srcset=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/720\/405\/democrats-worried-about-abolish-ice-slogan.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1, https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1440\/810\/democrats-worried-about-abolish-ice-slogan.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1 2x\" height=\"405\" width=\"720\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/a57.foxnews.com\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1200\/675\/democrats-worried-about-abolish-ice-slogan.jpg?ve=1&amp;tl=1\" alt=\"Protestors carrying signs\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div>\n<div class=\"info\">\n<div class=\"caption\">\n<p><span>Democrats are worried that the &#8220;abolish ICE&#8221; slogan will age poorly as &#8220;defund the police,&#8221; the New York Times reported. Per NYT, &#8220;some Democrats worry that calls to eliminate the agency are an unwelcome distraction from more pragmatic approaches. They fear that the \u2018Abolish ICE\u2019 slogan will age as poorly as \u2018Defund the Police\u2019 did.&#8221;<\/span> <span>(Getty)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;That&#8217;s when it all started. <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_7474586\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/category\/us\/blue-city-crime\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">No cash bail<\/a>,&#8221; he added. &#8220;Somebody kills somebody, and they just say, all right, go ahead and come back in two weeks.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">During her ABC interview, Jonathan Karl briefly pressed the congresswoman \u2014 who is a member of the New York chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) \u2014 on radical comments made by fellow socialist and Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong in 2020 and 2021.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">&#8220;I have a local city councilman that has this saying, &#8216;Woke 1 was crazy,'&#8221; Ocasio-Cortez said while grinning. &#8220;And I think that what\u2019s important is that we have to assess what a candidate is saying now.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\"><a href=\"https:\/\/foxnews.onelink.me\/xLDS?pid=AppArticleLink&amp;af_dp=foxnewsaf%3A%2F%2F&amp;af_web_dp=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.foxnews.com%2Fapps-products\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><strong>CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">The congresswoman has refused to rule out a <a data-omtr-intcmp=\"fnc_politics_article_main-content_article-body_6_7474589\" href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/mark-kelly-blames-trump-agenda-boosting-aoc-dems-presidential-pick\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">run for president<\/a>, but she hasn&#8217;t looked past November&#8217;s midterm elections.<\/p>\n<p data-layout-index=\"5\">Ocasio-Cortez&#8217;s office did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital&#8217;s request for comment.<\/p>\n<p> <!----> <!----> <\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! President Donald Trump said Friday that far-left Democrats like Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., are now trying to distance themselves from some of the radical positions they once championed. In an interview with Fox News correspondent Alexis McAdams, Trump was asked about Ocasio-Cortez&#8217;s perceived shift away from her earlier&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":45677,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/static.foxnews.com\/foxnews.com\/content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/aoc-donald-trump-2.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-45676","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45676","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=45676"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45676\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/45677"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=45676"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=45676"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=45676"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}