On Monday evening, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York appeared at the Met Gala wearing an ivory wool jacket dress designed by Brother Vellies, which had an organza flounce and the words “Tax the Rich” written in red across the back.
In camera footage taken before to her arrival, she can be seen making her way to the car that would transport her to the event, with a masked assistant holding up the train of her dress while she smiled and waved to her admirers.
A high price of entry — $35,000 per ticket, or $200,000 to $300,000 per table — is usually paid by designers and corporate sponsors for the gala’s attendees, who typically include the Kardashians, Hollywood A-listers, and supermodels. The event, which attracts a large number of celebrities, is frequently referred to as the Oscars of fashion.
Many political leaders from New York City are also allowed to attend as “guests of the museum,” which means they are not required to pay admission.
However, Representative Ocasio-presence Cortez’s — as well as her attire — offered easy fodder for her most fervent detractors. On Twitter, Donald Trump Jr., the former president’s oldest son, called her a phoney for conveying a message about taxing the affluent “while she’s hanging out with a bunch of wealthy leftwing elites.” She has denied the allegations.
According to Representative Jim Banks, a Republican from Indiana, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez is the “gift that keeps giving.”
Yet what was more surprising than the rote judgments from her political opponents was the backlash from the left, which included progressives and self-described socialists who were disappointed by a gesture they said caricatured a progressive cause while reinforcing their belief that she is not maximising her ability to fight for working people from her position in Congress. Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, a Democratic representative from New York, was elected to Congress in November.
The former national press secretary for Senator Bernie Sanders’ 2020 campaign and co-host of the “Bad Faith” podcast, Briahna Gray, asserted that Ms. Ocasio-Cortez is “held to a unique standard precisely because people expect more of her.” Ms. Ocasio-Cortez is the youngest house member of Representatives. She said that part of the progressive reaction to the outfit stemmed from a more general dissatisfaction with certain of her policy views in general.
