This is What’s Trending Today…

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the youngest woman ever elected to the U.S. Congress. The 29-year-old New Yorker became famous after beating a long-time Democratic leader in the primary election and then winning the general election in November. Her fame has made Ocasio-Cortez a target for many conservative critics.

One critic recently shared an old video of Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter that was meant to harm her reputation. It shows her and other students during college dancing to music from the 1980s movie “The Breakfast Club.”

A person using the name @AnonymousQ1776 wrote, “Here is America’s favorite commie know-it-all acting like the clueless nitwit she is….”.

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., holds a hair clip between her teeth as she pulls her hair back, on the opening day of the 116th Congress, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., holds a hair clip between her teeth as she pulls her hair back, on the opening day of the 116th Congress, at the Capitol in Washington, Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

The Twitter account has since been removed.

Ocasio-Cortez was a student at Boston University at the time of the video. She finished her studies in 2011 with degrees in international relations and economics.

On Friday, Ocasio-Cortez answered the critic with a new video of herself dancing outside her new office in Washington, DC. The young congresswoman points at the camera, smiles and dances to the song “War.”

She wrote on Twitter, “I hear the GOP thinks women dancing are scandalous. Wait till they find out Congresswomen dance too! Have a great weekend everyone :)”

By midday Friday, her 11-second-long video already had more than 3 million views.

And that’s What’s Trending Today.

I’m Ashley Thompson.

Hai Do wrote this story for Learning English. Ashley Thompson was the editor.

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Words in This Story

reputation – n. the way in which people think of someone

GOP – abbreviations for Grand Old Party or the Republican Party

scandalous – adj. shocking or offensive

view – n. an instant of an internet user visiting a page on a website