Ocasio-Cortez Adopts Biden-Style Low Press Profile Amid 2028 Buzz

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York appears to be taking a page from the Biden playbook on press access.

The progressive congresswoman and member of the Squad has shown up in early 2028 Democratic primary polls alongside former Vice President Kamala Harris, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg as potential presidential candidates. Some of her supporters in the party have also suggested her as a primary challenger to Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York.

Ocasio-Cortez has kept a lower profile than Harris or Newsom despite the attention. Axios described her approach as a "hide-and-seek strategy with the press," pointing out that she has given a fraction of the interviews other possible 2028 contenders have done this year.

Her most recent national news interview came Feb. 28 on NPR. Earlier, she appeared with CNN's Jake Tapper in January, former CNN anchor Don Lemon on his YouTube show and The New York Times in February. She has given just two national interviews since her appearance at the Munich Security Conference.

Lately, Ocasio-Cortez has spoken with two local New York TV stations and Ilana Glazer's podcast. On Friday, she met with former Obama adviser David Axelrod at the University of Chicago, where he asked about her political plans.

She declined an interview request from Axios. Her chief of staff, Mike Casca, told the outlet, "She takes questions multiple times a day from the press. And anyone with a press credential is able to find her in the Capitol and ask her questions."

That line closely matches defenses from the Biden White House. President Joe Biden drew criticism for limited press access during his term, including weeks without interviews or press conferences. In 2022, for instance, he gave only seven sit-down interviews.

White House press secretaries Jen Psaki and Karine Jean-Pierre pushed back on the complaints. "The President takes questions several times a week," Psaki said in 2021. "He answered questions, I think, three times last week... He takes questions nearly every time he is out speaking to the American people."

"It is also unprecedented that a president takes as many shouted questions as this president has," Jean-Pierre said in 2023.

Critics noted that shouted questions from reporters often leave no space for follow-ups, unlike formal interviews.

Ocasio-Cortez has stayed active online in the meantime. She regularly posts videos to her 4 million TikTok followers and 9.6 million Instagram followers.

Her office did not respond to Fox News Digital questions about her media strategy.