--- title: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Claps Back at Aaron Sorkin for Saying Congress Members Need to Grow Up description: “They need to stop acting like young people, ok? It’s time to do that,” Sorkin said. canonical: https://time.com/5508629/aaron-sorkin-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/ author: Tara Law article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-01-21T15:46:55.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:47:10.718Z og:title: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Pushes Back at Aaron Sorkin for Saying Congress Members Need to Grow Up og:description: “They need to stop acting like young people, ok? It’s time to do that,” Sorkin said. og:url: https://time.com/5508629/aaron-sorkin-alexandria-ocasio-cortez/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt895f6168e208ad60/698943ace76ad2ec7663404c/aoc.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1024 og:image:height: 576 og:image:alt: John Lamparski—Getty Images og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Pushes Back at Aaron Sorkin for Saying Congress Members Need to Grow Up twitter:description: “They need to stop acting like young people, ok? It’s time to do that,” Sorkin said. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt895f6168e208ad60/698943ace76ad2ec7663404c/aoc.jpg?branch=production&width=1024&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Reacts to Aaron Sorkin's Comments That Congress Members Need to Grow Up > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. 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New members of the 116th Congress—including Deb Haaland, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Dan Crenshaw, and Rashida Tlaib—talk to TIME about being part of the most diverse freshman class and the unique perspectives they bring._  by [Tara Law](https://time.com/author/tara-law/)  ## Tara Law Jan 21, 2019 3:46 PM UTC  Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 14th district Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attends Women's March 2019 on January 19, 2019 in New York City. Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 14th district Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attends Women's March 2019 on January 19, 2019 in New York City. Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from New York's 14th district Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez attends Women's March 2019 on January 19, 2019 in New York City.  by [Tara Law](https://time.com/author/tara-law/)  ## Tara Law Jan 21, 2019 3:46 PM UTC Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is pushing back against screenwriter Aaron Sorkin’s comments that the new members of Congress need to “stop acting like young people.” In an interview with CNN on Sunday, Sorkin – who is renowned for penning political dramas like the _West Wing_ and _Charlie Wilson’s War_ – argued that while he likes the young freshman Congressmembers, “They need to stop acting like young people, ok?It’s time to do that.” He continued, “I think that there’s a great opportunity here, now more than ever, for Democrats to be the non-stupid party, to point out the difference. That it’s not just about transgender bathrooms. That’s a Republican talking point they’re trying to distract you with.” > [](https://twitter.com/JordanUhl/status/1087064854001844224) Sorkin suggested that instead Democrats must show that they care about broader issues, such as the “economic anxiety of the middle class.” Ocasio-Cortez, the youngest Congresswoman in history, responded through the medium that has become the hallmark of her style — Twitter. “News Flash: Medicare for All and equal rights aren’t trends,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote. “When people complain about low turnout in some demos, it’s not because communities are apathetic, it’s because they don’t see you fighting for them. If we don’t show up for people, why should you feel entitled to their vote?” [https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1087077990989737986](https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1087077990989737986) Later that day, Ocasio-Cortez also responded to a tweet from Charlotte Clymer, an activist for LGBTQIA advocacy group Human Rights Campaign, who wrote that Sorkin was invested in finding elected officials with “gravitas” even if he disagreed with their values. In an extended thread, Ocasio-Cortez argued that Sorkin is falling into a trap common among conservatives – belittling individuals, and especially women, for their identity or style rather than addressing their ideas. “Let’s dig into ‘gravitas,’ because it’s an ambiguous word, selectively applied,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote. “Ever wonder how expression that’s feminine, working-class, queer, or POC isn’t deemed as having ‘gravitas’, but talking like an Aaron Sorkin character does? Men have ‘gravitas,’ women get ‘likeable.’” “This has deeper consequences, bc as we’ve seen w/ narratives advanced by the right, they have trouble recognizing intelligence in people they disagree with,” she wrote. “This is what bias looks like: for some ppl, small mistakes mean they’re not “serious,” yet others are forgiven for worse.” She also addressed Sorkin’s comment that Democrats need to stop talking about the right of transgender people to use the bathroom of their choice. “We wouldn’t need to talk about bathrooms at all if we acted like adults, washed our hands and minded our own business instead of trying to clock others. Going by track record, I’d feel safer in a bathroom with a trans woman than a powerful male executive any day of the week.” > [](https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1087093156397678593) ## Transcript [00:00] Happy New Year family! We [00:06] had this huge influx of new voices, new ideas and [00:10] perspectives that have not, really ever, been heard in [00:14] this body. It felt like government was not designed for [00:19] young people to succeed, for women to succeed, for [00:22] working class people to succeed. I think I've actually [00:24] been surprised by the possibility of it. [ INAUDIBLE ] [00:29] We're getting younger and more colorful. It is [00:31] reminiscent of being in highschool. You're walking [00:33] around not remembering people's names, and you're [00:36] worried that someone doesn't like you. But, I have a [00:39] feeling I think, I hope I'm more popular here than I was [00:42] in highschool. Fingers crossed! [00:49] [ MUSIC ] [00:52] [ CROSSTALK ] That's it, you guys did it. [ LAUGH ] [01:00] There is no substitute for experience. We have to [01:03] respect and value and learn from that experience. But [01:07] there's also no substitute for energy and a new way of [01:09] looking at things. We have a different sense about what [01:13] is possible. We are going to see changes in process. [01:15] We're going to see changes in policy. There has never [01:18] been a voice To advocate for the things that Native [01:22] Americans need. And we have the third poorest [01:24] congressional district in the country. I've lived that [01:27] experience. Growing up upstate, working class kid, [01:30] went off to Oxford as a road scholar then to get my law [01:34] degree. This was largely a class that didn't come from [01:36] politics, and leadership is just connecting with people [01:38] and trying to inspire people. That's just what running [01:40] for office is. And that's also what it means to lead a [01:42] SEAL time. I worked as a CIA case officer, so I worked [01:45] undercover for the entirety of my time with the agency. [01:47] I was a prosecutor in Iraq in the Navy JAG corps. I have [01:50] a background in the United States Navy, but I'm also a [01:53] mom. Being a mom is really helpful cuz sometimes it [01:56] seems like there are a lot of squabbles between [01:58] members of Congress that remind me of my kids [02:01] fighting. After I won, I got another text from a [02:04] republican supporter who said please take your blue [02:07] jeans to Washington, DC. [ LAUGH ] And I just want to [02:10] stay who I am. And so did you take your blue jeans? Of [02:12] course. [ LAUGH ] I'm a republican, I'm a [02:16] fiscal conservative, but more than that I'm a millennial. [02:19] As a younger member, I I'm really looking at [02:23] things with a long- term perspective. What is the [02:27] America I'm going to live in when I'm fifty- nine, [02:31] which is thirty years from now. Democrats and [02:34] Republicans have been running on the exact same [02:37] thing for more than two years now. They've been [02:40] running on draining the swamp- They've been running [02:42] on lowering health care costs, they've been running on [02:44] big, bold, grand infrastructure projects. They've been [02:48] running on defending Medicare ans Social Security. [02:51] Now all we are saying is let's do it. The job is to act, to [02:55] do, not to think about what can or cannot be done per [02:58] se, but to do it and to figure out how to get it done. [03:01] The freshmen, we are quarter of the Democratic [03:03] caucus. We're a quarter of the Congress. They literally [03:08] can't pass anything if we're not on board. There has to [03:12] be consideration of our perspective. The door is open. [03:15] The ceiling's broken now. So, I intend to leave the [03:19] ladder down. I want other native women, women of [03:22] color, And women to run for office, to know [03:26] that they can succeed, and I'll be there to make sure [03:29] that they do. 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