A renewed debate over authenticity and political image erupted this week after New York State Assemblyman Matt Slater, a Republican, publicly challenged Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) over her oft-repeated “Bronx girl” identity. The dustup followed a heated exchange between Ocasio-Cortez and President Donald Trump, in which she cited her Bronx upbringing as a marker of personal toughness.
Slater, who currently represents parts of Westchester and Putnam counties, took to social media to post a photo from the 2004 Yorktown High School yearbook, showing a freshman AOC—then known as Alexandria Cortez—attending school in the affluent New York suburb nearly an hour north of the Bronx. “If you’re a BX girl then why are you in my Yorktown yearbook? Give it up already,” he wrote on X, formerly Twitter.
“I literally just reached behind me and grabbed my yearbook,” Slater told Fox News Digital. “Let’s end this charade and come clean. You’re from Yorktown.”
The post followed Ocasio-Cortez’s call for Trump’s impeachment over his order of airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities. Trump responded with a fiery post on Truth Social, labeling her “one of the dumbest people in Congress,” while also disparaging other progressive lawmakers, including Reps. Jasmine Crockett and Ilhan Omar.
Ocasio-Cortez fired back with a pointed jab at Trump’s Queens background: “Also, I’m a Bronx girl. You should know that we can eat Queens boys for breakfast. Respectfully.”
Slater pushed back, arguing that her continual branding as a Bronx native overlooks the reality of her suburban upbringing. “That fact that she continues this charade disrespects this town,” he said. “People just want real leaders, not manufactured personas crafted to score political points.”
While Ocasio-Cortez has acknowledged her time in Yorktown, she continues to emphasize her Bronx roots. According to a 2018 New York Times report, she lived in the Parkchester section of the Bronx until age five before her family moved to Yorktown Heights in Westchester County in pursuit of better schools.
In a 2018 tweet, Ocasio-Cortez defended her background: “My mom scrubbed toilets so I could live here & I grew up seeing how the zip code one is born in determines much of their opportunity.”
Still, Slater maintained that her identity narrative has been selectively shaped. “Clearly, hiding or distorting her roots was done for a specific reason—to help her get elected,” he said. “If you’re not going to be honest about it, then we’re going to be honest for you.”
