A Twitter troll’s attempt to smear Democratic congresswomen Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez backfired in dramatic fashion after the unknown user shared a video of the young politician… drumroll please… dancing when she was in college.
On Wednesday, the day before Ocasio-Cortez was officially sworn into the U.S. Congress, a Twitter user with the handle AnonymousQ1776 uploaded a 30-second clip featuring Ocasio-Cortez dancing on a rooftop along with the caption:
“Here is America’s favorite commie know-it-all acting like the clueless nitwit she is.”
The post – which has since been deleted – also claimed the footage was taken when Ocasio-Cortez was in high school.
In fact, the video was filmed while Ocasio-Cortez was an undergraduate student at Boston University.
Another Twitter user named Dan Jordan also shared the clip with the caption “Congratulations New York!”
...High School video of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez -- Congratulations New York! pic.twitter.com/VSKdUImhZj
— Dan Jordan (@realdanjordan) January 2, 2019
In the clip – taken from a longer video uploaded to YouTube in 2010 – the young Ocasio-Cortez can be seen busting a move with fellow students in a choreographed dance inspired by the 1980s hit film “The Breakfast Club.”
The lighthearted dance was inspired by a trending mashup video from 2009 that spliced together different scenes from popular 1980s films and set them to the European band Phoenix’s song “Lisztomania.”
The Twitter user’s attempt to humiliate the New York congresswoman didn’t go as planned, however.
Immediately after the video was posted, commenters started mocking the poster’s motivation for sharing it.
Republicans have discovered the one thing that can TRULY destroy Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: videos of her being fun and cool
— Ike Barinholtz (@ikebarinholtz) January 3, 2019
Well, @AOC is officially done. She’ll never recover from the world seeing her...
— Patton Oswalt (@pattonoswalt) January 3, 2019
(watches video)
...dancing adorably and having fun with her friends in high school? https://t.co/0zENCzBinA
Now she's totally done for. Newly unearthed video reveals that when @AOC was in college, she was ... adorable. https://t.co/EkqXTrQSAo
— Karen Tumulty (@ktumulty) January 3, 2019
To rub salt in the wound, Twitter commenters even went so far as to share how the video made them like Ocasio-Cortez even more after watching it.
Man, I liked Ocasio-Cortez before, but now I really like her. Thanks for sharing the video! Nice to see someone relatable and real in the right position.
— RDB (@sintrosi) January 4, 2019
I love her more now. Thank you.
— CJ (@CAJinSB) January 4, 2019
Wow! Smart, kind, pretty and can dance! She has got it all. Thank you for sharing.
— Debra O'Brien (@dob_debra) January 4, 2019
The congresswoman herself weighed in on Friday afternoon when she uploaded a short clip of herself on Twitter doing a little dance before entering her office.
“I hear the GOP thinks women dancing are scandalous. Wait till they find out Congresswomen dance too!” she wrote in the caption.
I hear the GOP thinks women dancing are scandalous.
— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 4, 2019
Wait till they find out Congresswomen dance too!
Have a great weekend everyone :) pic.twitter.com/9y6ALOw4F6
It’s not the first time the popular Democratic representative – who was elected in November – has faced online attacks from those who disagree with her politics.
In November, a reporter for a conservative Washington newspaper criticized Ocasio-Cortez’s jacket and coat and called her a “girl” in a tweet. The post was widely described as sexist and has since been deleted.