AOC mocked for selling $58 'tax the rich' sweatshirt
Selling merchandise online has become a key way for politicians to raise funds in recent years
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is dealing with some online backlash over the $58 price tag on a "Tax the Rich" sweatshirt in her campaign shop.
Ocasio-Cortez announced preorders for the black sweatshirt emblazoned with "TAX THE RICH" in all caps on Wednesday night, adding that the items are "made in the US with dignified, union jobs paying living wages."
"Only the rich can afford this idiotic sweatshirt," conservative commentator Ben Shapiro wrote on Twitter on Thursday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is dealing with some online backlash over the $58 price tag on a "Tax the Rich" sweatshirt in her campaign shop. Screenshot
"Selling a $58 sweatshirt to own the capitalists is the most AOC thing ever," Eddie Zipperer, who teaches political science at Georgia Military College, wrote on Twitter.
"Hey AOC I can't afford this sweatshirt [right now], you got a coupon code for the non-rich?" the Daily Caller News Foundation's Mary Margaret Olohan wrote on Twitter.
Ocasio-Cortez was quick to hit back against the critics.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Republicans are freaking out [because] we don’t use slave-wage labor for merch that funds grassroots organizing. But what’s the difference between Trump’s merch and ours? Ours is made in the US. ([and] for GOP who joke that we [should] give [shirts] for free, we actually do - just volunteer)," she wrote on Twitter on Thursday.
Not all of the responses were critical, however.
"We like your merch, AOC. #TaxTheRich," the left-leaning group Tax March wrote on Twitter.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The "Tax the Rich" sweatshirt is one of many items available in the official AOC shop, which includes a "Drink Water & Don't Be Racist" sticker and "AOC Plus Me" T-shirts. Selling merchandise online has become a key way for politicians to raise funds in recent years.
Ocasio-Cortez is known for critiquing capitalism and is a driving force for progressive policies, including "Medicare-for-all" and the Green New Deal that would significantly expand government power in health care and climate regulation.
She has advocated for a wealth tax to support expanded government programs. Over the summer, Ocasio-Cortez pushed Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a Democrat, to tax billionaires who live in New York state and use the money to aid people hurt by the coronavirus-induced economic crisis.
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"We need you to pass a billionaires' tax, in order to make sure that we're providing for our working families,” Ocasio-Cortez said in a video in July. “It's time to stop protecting billionaires, and it's time to start working for working families.”
Fox News' inquiry to Ocasio-Cortez's office was not immediately returned.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}FOX Business' Megan Henney contributed to this report.