Biden surrogate pressed on whether AOC remarks were 'confusing' optics for Dems

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Critics blast Rep. Ocasio-Cortez for leaving Biden out of convention speech

Fox News host Trace Gallagher asked ex-Obama spokesperson-turned-Joe Biden surrogate Zach Friend if it was “very confusing” when Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez nominated Sen. Bernie Sanders during her Democratic National Convention speech

Gallagher played a clip of Ocasio-Cortez seconding the nomination of Sanders during her speech on Tuesday, which is a longstanding procedural tradition. However, many were left confused and NBC News was scolded by Ocasio-Cortez when it tweeted she “did not endorse Joe Biden.”

AOC RIPS NBC NEWS OVER ‘MALICIOUS’ CLAIM SHE ‘DID NOT ENDORSE JOE BIDEN’ 

“I know it was symbolic, Zach, ... this nomination of Bernie Sanders, but it was also very confusing. NBC News was confused, they tweeted out a big headline,” Gallagher said. “This cannot, Zach, be the message that the Biden campaign was hoping for."

Friend admitted that the procedural moment could have confused some people but added that it’s “not without precedent,” noting Republicans have done the exact same thing. The former Obama spokesperson then spun the situation into a positive for the Biden campaign.

AOC CALLS OUT 'RACIAL INJUSTICE, COLONIZATION, MISOGYNY' IN MINUTE-LONG DNC SPEECH

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“I actually think it was a good thing that early on, the Biden camp recognized the need to partner with Sen. Sanders and his team, we received a number votes during the primary and gave them an opportunity not just to speak at the convention but also have their delegates cast their votes,” Friend said.

“The DNC specifically asked Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez to do this, so procedurally it is, um, actually what had it intended to be and a good show of unity to have her and others have the opportunity to say these things,” he added.

Gallagher countered that the party could have provided more "clarity" before Ocasio-Cortez's remarks - in which she did not mention Biden - so viewers were not left confused about her support.

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NBC News eventually deleted the misleading tweet and added an editor’s note explaining the situation, but Ocasio-Cortez wasn’t happy.

“You waited several hours to correct your obvious and blatantly misleading tweet,” Ocasio-Cortez tweeted with a retweet of NBC’s clarification that appeared about three hours after its initial message. “It sparked an enormous amount of hatred and vitriol, & now the misinfo you created is circulating on other networks.

Fox News’ Dom Calicchio contributed to this report.