Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has ditched the Big Apple for sunny south Florida, prompting supporters of the state’s Republican governor, Ron DeSantis, to hope she was “enjoying a taste of freedom.”
The far-left “Squad” member was pictured hoisting a cocktail and checking her phone with an unknown companion at a table outside of the Doraku Izakaya and Sushi restaurant in Miami Beach, according to images obtained by National Review and published late Thursday.
Ocasio-Cortez’s winter getaway comes as New York City is experiencing record-high numbers of COVID-19 cases due to the Omicron variant, with officials reporting more than 40,000 new infections on Thursday.
The city has also instituted strict mask and vaccine requirements for businesses.
In Florida, which is also seeing a spike in COVID cases, DeSantis signed a bill last month preventing businesses from creating vaccine mandates unless employees can opt out.
The Team DeSantis Twitter account was quick to troll Ocasio-Cortez over her visit to the Sunshine State.
”Welcome to Florida, AOC! We hope you’re enjoying a taste of freedom here in the Sunshine State thanks to @RonDeSantisFL’s leadership,” read a post from late Thursday night.
Aww @AOC this is so cute 🥰
Did your martini taste a bit hypocritical?
Don’t you just love the freedom Republicans give you in Florida?
No masks or vaccine mandates.
No stifling communist policies you constantly legislate & vote for.
Cheers to freedom!#AOCLovesDeSantis pic.twitter.com/8iRnyLynhp
— Marjorie Taylor Greene 🇺🇸 (@mtgreenee) December 31, 2021
In February, Ocasio-Cortez called on Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to step down after he took his family on a trip to Cancun while Texas was in the throes of a deadly winter storm that knocked out power to millions.
“If Sen. Cruz had resigned back in January after helping gin up a violent insurrection that killed several people, he could’ve taken his vacation in peace,” she tweeted at the time. “Texans should continue to demand his resignation.”
When Cruz mocked AOC for her comments about the Jan. 6 Capitol riot during a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Fla., Ocasio-Cortez shot back.
“I don’t care what Cruz said at CPAC, but I do care that it appears Texas was just a layover stop for him between Cancun and Orlando to drop a pack of water into someone’s trunk and abandon his constituents again as they get slammed with $16,000 electrical bills,” she wrote on Twitter.
Ocasio-Cortez’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Post Friday.
Even Hardcore Socialist love the Free State of Florida when they think no one is watching 👇#AOCLovesDeSantis pic.twitter.com/ukz5aTtj9l
— Vince Langman (@LangmanVince) December 31, 2021