President Trump slammed both Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Gov. Gavin Newsom as “incompetent” following their appearances at the Munich Security Conference in Germany, as reported by The Hill. The president was speaking to reporters on Air Force One when he delivered the sharp criticism, but he immediately followed it up with a truly bizarre claim about another prominent Democrat.
President Trump stated he watched both the New York lawmaker and the California governor answering questions in Munich, calling it a “bad look for the United States” and a “bad look for our country.” He then declared, “These two people are incompetent, and at least Hillary’s competent.” That’s a wild shift in rhetoric, even if he still added that she is an “angry woman” who is “Trump deranged.”
The focus of the president’s criticism seemed to stem primarily from specific missteps Ocasio-Cortez made while speaking on the international stage. AOC had a major geographical gaffe, mistakenly claiming that Venezuela is located “below the equator.” If you look at a map, you know that the South American country actually sits entirely in the Northern Hemisphere. She also appeared hesitant to commit to an answer when asked if the U.S. should send troops to defend Taiwan if China decided to invade.
Hillary seems much more like a competitor that Trump wants to see against her
President Trump stated that he had never heard her speak much, but after watching her answer questions, he concluded she had “no idea what was happening.” He wasn’t just critical of her lack of global knowledge, either. The president suggested she couldn’t even answer “very important questions concerning the world,” adding that she “can’t answer questions concerning New York City, either, because New York City has got some problems.”
It wasn’t just the president who noticed her shaky performance. Several political figures and commentators also questioned the representative’s preparedness to handle foreign policy inquiries after her remarks. This isn’t the first time Ocasio-Cortez has struggled with international topics, and her global presence has remained intermittent.
One Democratic strategist from New York mentioned that she has “flubbed on foreign policy before, in speeches, in interviews, in some pretty high-profile ways.” That strategist found it “a bit surprising” that she chose to put herself on an “even more high-profile stage” like the Munich conference to potentially stumble again.
If you’re wondering why she was there in the first place, Ocasio-Cortez provided her own reasoning. Speaking during a Sunday discussion with college students at Technische Universität Berlin, she explained that her goal was to highlight progressive foreign policy on a global scale. She feels that progressive viewpoints haven’t been “represented internationally in a very long time, if not ever,” and she felt “that it was very important to start bringing that into spaces of power.”
She stated her ambition isn’t just about political office, either. She said her ambitions are firmly rooted in “changing our political environment,” which is why she wants to elect “scores” of officials who share her values. Ocasio-Cortez has definitely been building her national profile, including launching a “Fighting Oligarchy” tour with Senator Bernie Sanders last year. Her high-profile moves have led many to eye her as a potential presidential contender for the 2028 election.
Published: Feb 17, 2026 11:30 am