Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez rejected a plea by Aaron Sorkin for new Democrats to stop 'acting like young people'
- Writer Aaron Sorkin, who wrote "The West Wing" and "The Social Network", told CNN that, while he likes the new cohort of Democrats in Congress, they "need to stop acting like young people."
- Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the youngest woman in Congress, dismissed his calls and insisted that her progressive policies are not "trends."
- Sorkin also said that Democrats should act like "the non-stupid party" and "be smart" in politics.
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the youngest woman ever elected to Congress, slammed screenwriter Aaron Sorkin's plea for new Democrats in Congress grow up.
Sorkin, who wrote "The West Wing" and "The Social Network," told CNN's Fareed Zakaria on Friday: "I really like the new crop of young people who were just elected to Congress. They now need to stop acting like young people, OK? It's time to do that."
Sorkin added that Democrats should now be "the non-stupid party" and "be smart" with new legislation and campaigns in Congress.
"I think there's a great opportunity here, now more than ever, for Dems to be the non-stupid party, to point out the difference," he said. "It's not just transgender bathrooms - that's a Republican talking point they're trying to distract you with.
"We haven't forgotten the economic anxiety of the middle class, but we're going to be smart about this. We're not going to be mean about it," he added.
Read more: Aaron Sorkin wrote a letter to his daughter the day after Donald Trump became president
Ocasio-Cortez dismissed Sorkin's calls on Sunday, tweeting: "News Flash: Medicare for All & equal rights aren't trends." Medicare for All is one of the key tenets of Ocasio-Cortez's platform.
"When people complain about low turnout in some demos [demographics], it's not because communities are apathetic, it's they don't see you fighting for them."
"If we don't show up for people, why should you feel entitled to their vote?"
Ocasio-Cortez lost out on a seat on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee earlier this month, which oversees many parts of US economic policy and would have been a high-profile arena for her to advocate her progressive policies.
She, however, secured a place on the House Financial Services Committee, which has authority to oversee big banks and financial services in the US, and to shape new regulations.