Bedeviled by dwindling poll numbers and widespread criticism for his response to the virus, President Donald Trump arrived in the Rose Garden on Tuesday for an increasingly rare press conference.
Presidents typically limit press conferences on White House grounds to work relating to the Executive Branch, rather than the campaign trail.
Nevertheless, the President embarked on a 52 minute rant against Democratic nominee Joe Biden and his oft-cited rogues' gallery of liberals, including former President Barack Obama, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY).
His attack on Ocasio-Cortez—colloquially known as AOC—was particularly bizarre.
Watch below.
Trump: AOC, a young woman not talented in many ways https://t.co/5czXJJ5N4U— Acyn Torabi (@Acyn Torabi) 1594764043.0
Trump alluded to the Congresswoman's Green New Deal, an environmental overhaul she's long championed:
"Joe Biden put AOC, a young woman – not talented in many ways – in charge of his energy plan and the environment. When I first saw the Green New Deal, I thought it was a joke."
As the youngest woman to ever serve in the House of Representatives, Ocasio-Cortez is known for her social media prowess, particularly when it comes to clapping back at her more famous detractors.
She put that talent to good use when responding to the President's criticism.
A man whose entire life was built on a rich blend of daddy’s money and financial fraud accuses me, daughter of a ho… https://t.co/OSyzKCZlZO— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) 1594765801.0
The Congresswoman pointed out Trump's massive inherited fortune and the illegal financial maneuvers others have testified that he committed.
Ocasio-Cortez herself illuminated some of Trump's illegal financial endeavors through her questioning of the President's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, before the House Oversight Committee.
One of my first hearings in Congress was of Michael Cohen, called in by Chairman Cummings. Here⬇️ Cohen testified… https://t.co/M3GZMmhZyz— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez) 1594316985.0
Ocasio-Cortez also pointed to her own upbringing, as the daughter of a working class mother. The Congresswoman just won the Democratic primary in her first reelection campaign with an astonishing 72 percent of the vote. She's all but certain to win reelection in November.
People thought her analysis was on point.
@AOC you're right and you should say it https://t.co/rbKcs6xCmW— janae has legends withdrawalᵇˡᵐ (@janae has legends withdrawalᵇˡᵐ) 1594765865.0
@AOC Keep fighting! You’re everything a leader should be. ❤️— Austin Heller (@Austin Heller) 1594765855.0
@AOC Says the man who bankrupted five businesses.— Ian Banks (@Ian Banks) 1594767361.0
@AOC As Trump said those words somewhere in the world another casino just went out of business— Ali ☭ (@Ali ☭) 1594765857.0
@AOC “Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.” Albert Einstein. The dinosaurs… https://t.co/RyG33CglVf— JayCoRo (@JayCoRo) 1594766788.0
The public is no stranger to unusual behavior from Trump, but people agreed that he seemed in rare form on Tuesday.
This rose garden thing is nuts. Just insane desperation— Adam Parkhomenko (@Adam Parkhomenko) 1594764672.0
Watching this nightmare in the rose garden is a good reminder that every Republican who has enabled this – which i… https://t.co/wTBE8zeDjt— Tom Nichols (@Tom Nichols) 1594765263.0
This has gone from a barely veiled campaign speech from the Rose Garden to an explicit one, with Trump attacking Biden by name.— Daniel Dale (@Daniel Dale) 1594762699.0
Any responsible WH press aide would have assumed a lotus position in the Rose Garden, doused themselves in gas and… https://t.co/8U72IZg57C— stuart stevens (@stuart stevens) 1594767331.0
Even Bret Baier of Fox News admitted that Republicans would be "up in arms" if Obama had given such a partisan speech from the Rose Garden.
You can watch Trump's full speech at the Rose Garden here.
Trump tears into Biden policies at press conference in the Rose Gardenwww.youtube.com