Ocasio-Cortez hits back at critics who pounced on $58 ‘Tax the Rich’ sweatshirt

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had a swift response for conservatives criticizing her for selling a “Tax the Rich” sweatshirt for $58. The price was right, the leftwing New York Democrat said, because the campaign merchandise was made by unionised workers in the US rather than in China, unlike political wear sold by, for example, Donald Trump.

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“And by the way: Tax the Rich.” Ocasio-Cortez added on Twitter.

Ben Shapiro, a podcast host, author and successful conservative gadfly, tweeted of the merchandise sold on ocasiocortez.com: “Only the rich can afford this idiotic sweatshirt.”

“For $27,” Shapiro tweeted over of a picture of a shirt featuring the words “student debt” struck out, “you can buy AOC’s bullshit T-shirt rather than spending it paying off loans you voluntarily took”.

Supporters who bought the shirt, Shapiro argued, would still have student debt and would still be “bearing it alone, since you’ll still be paying down that student debt. You’ll just be $27 poorer and AOC’s war chest will be $27 richer.”

Shapiro also said, “Nothing says economic justice like spending $65 on a sweatshirt”, again over a picture of some AOC merchandise.

Since shocking the Democratic party with a primary victory in her Bronx and Queens district in 2018, Ocasio-Cortez has become the rising star of the US progressive left. Donald Trump admiringly compared her to Evita Perón and some observers think she might mount a primary challenge against Chuck Schumer, the minority leader in the US Senate, in 2022.

In response to Shapiro, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted a comment from a Business Insider writer which noted union involvement in making her merchandise. Republicans, she added, were “freaking out because we don’t use slave-wage labour for merch that funds grassroots organising.

“But what’s the difference between Trump’s merch and ours? Ours is made in the US. (And for [Republicans] who joke that we should give for free, we actually do – just volunteer.)”

Still, this is America, a country where no passing hoo-hah or flimflam was ever deemed too insignificant for the purpose of turning a buck. By day’s end, the Daily Wire, the website Shapiro founded and of which he is now editor emeritus, was selling merch of its own. Its slogan? “Insert Woke Slogan”.