Joe Lieberman Image by Getty Images

Joe Lieberman, former Democratic Senator from Connecticut, made it clear he is not a fan of New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

“With all respect, I certainly hope she’s not the future and I don’t believe she is,” Lieberman said Thursday on Fox Business Network.

Lieberman, 76, explained that Ocasio-Cortez, 29, is too “different” and “controversial” for the party, which he says has shifted to the center of the political spectrum.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

“If you look at the majority of new Democrats in the house, they tend to be, I say, center-left, if they are not left-left,” he said. “And that is because they had to be center-left to win some of those competitive swing districts that they took from Republicans. So that’s the hope.”

Ocasio-Cortez, a self-described Democratic socialist, didn’t flinch at the comment. Instead she shot back, tweeting, “New party, who dis?”

In November, after she unseated incumbent Democrat Joe Crowley in a upset victory, the freshman congresswoman tweeted that Lieberman was one of the two former vice presidential candidates to attack her.

Alyssa Fisher is a news writer at the Forward. Email her at fisher@forward.com, or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Join our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount