Whoopi Goldberg, the moderator of "The View," criticized newly sworn-in Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) on Monday for comments the New York Democrat made in a wide-ranging interview with "60 Minutes" that aired Sunday.
Goldberg appeared especially irritated by Ocasio-Cortez's decision to call out establishment Democrats.
On "60 Minutes," correspondent and CNN host asked the 29-year-old Democratic socialist about her previous attempts to encourage primary challenges of incumbent party members who accept corporate money or oppose progressive policies, which Cooper noted are "politically dangerous tactics."
"It's absolutely risky," Ocasio-Cortez replied. "It requires risk to try something new, but also we know so much of what we've tried in the past hasn't worked, either." This comment was interpreted by many political commentators and observers, including Goldberg, as a jab at rank-and-file members of the Democratic Party.
While Goldberg applauded Ocasio-Cortez as an "opinionated woman, which we like," she added, "it is very, very difficult when people make accusations where you say, 'You know, the Democrats have done nothing. The establishment of the Democrats have done nothing.'"
"And I just want to throw this out to you. [Rep.] John Lewis [D-Ga.] wasn't sitting still. [Sen.] Dianne Feinstein [D-Calif.] wasn't sitting still," she added. "There are a whole bunch of people in the Democratic Party who have been busting their asses to make sure that women get what they need, people get what they need, children get what they need."
"So, you just got in there, and I know you got lots of good ideas. But I would encourage you to sit still for a minute, and learn the job," she continued, "Because there are people in that party who have been working their tails off for this country, and they know a lot. And you could learn some stuff from them."
"You don't have to be born into it. You don’t have to know it when you step out, but before you start pooping on people and what they've done, you got to do something, too," Goldberg said to applause. "You can't poop on what was when you're coming in on the shoulders of quite a few giants."
In her "60 Minutes" interview, Ocasio-Cortez also said there was "no question" that President Donald Trump is a racist and apologized to Donald Trump Jr., the president's eldest son, over the barbs they traded on social media in December.
The freshman congresswoman also discussed her ambitious plan to combat the threat of climate change, known as the "Green New Deal." She said the plan, which aims to eliminate carbon emissions within 12 years, is "going to require a lot of rapid change that we don't even conceive as possible right now."
"What is the problem with trying to push our technological capacities to the furthest extent possible?" Ocasio-Cortez asked.
To pay for the deal, Ocasio-Cortez pointed to the progressive tax rate system in the 1960s and proposed the idea of tax of tax rates as high as 70 percent on the super-rich.
"You know, you look at our tax rates back in the '60s. And when you have a progressive tax rate system, your tax rate . . . let's say, from zero to $75,000, may be ten percent or 15 percent, et cetera," Ocasio-Cortez said. "But once you get to, like, the tippy tops, on your ten-millionth dollar, sometimes you see tax rates as high as 60 or 70 percent."
"That doesn't mean all $10 million are taxed at an extremely high rate, but it means that, as you climb up this ladder, you should be contributing more," she added.
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