Fox News host Julie Banderas reportedly took aim at Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., Tuesday night after the progressive lawmaker said she would probably not consider dating a conservative.
Banderas, who also serves as a co-host on Fox Noticias, appeared on “Jesse Watters Primetime” to discuss Ocasio-Cortez’s response to a personal question about her dating preferences.
TMZ reporter Charlie Cotton approached Ocasio-Cortez outside the U.S. Capitol and asked whether she would ever date someone with conservative political beliefs.
“Would you ever date a conservative?” Cotton asked.
Ocasio-Cortez initially laughed at the question.
When Cotton followed up by asking whether it was something she would ever entertain, the New York Democrat said it was unlikely.
“I have to say it’s, uh, probably not,” Ocasio-Cortez replied.
The congresswoman added that she had no problem with other people who choose to date someone from a different political background. She also acknowledged that the meaning of the term “conservative” could vary depending on the person.
“No foul to people who do,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “And of course, how you define that is very different from person to person, right?”
Ocasio-Cortez explained that she views politics as connected to personal values and believes that sharing those values is important in a relationship.
“But I think a lot of politics sometimes, at least for me, is about values, and being aligned in values I think is tremendously important,” she said.
Later Tuesday, Fox News host Jesse Watters played the exchange and noted that Ocasio-Cortez had recently ended her engagement.
“AOC’s back on the market,” Watters said. “I don’t know if you’ve heard, but she dumped her fiancé. But she’s got standards for her next prince charming.”
After the clip aired, Banderas fired back at the congresswoman’s comments.
“Girl, no conservative would want to date you,” Banderas said. “You are not untapping a mystery here.”
Banderas then referenced Ocasio-Cortez’s decision to freeze her eggs and questioned why a conservative would want to marry the Democratic lawmaker.
“She broke up, she froze her eggs, she’s eventually going to put them in and maybe some brave soul will stand up and be the father of those poor little children,” Banderas said. “But like, why would a conservative ever want to marry her?”
Watters interrupted to point out that the original question concerned dating rather than marriage.
“Well, we didn’t say ‘marry,’” Watters told Banderas. “Just date.”
Banderas responded by suggesting that Ocasio-Cortez would eventually want a husband.
“Well, I know, but at her age, she’s gonna eventually want to have a husband, I think,” she said.
Watters ended the discussion by joking that the congresswoman was “only available to liberals.”
Ocasio-Cortez’s original answer did not categorically rule out dating a conservative. She said it was “probably not” something she would do while emphasizing that political definitions differ and that matching values is particularly important to her.
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