Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Image by Getty Images

Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had many fierce defenders after a nine-year-old video of her dancing while in college surfaced online — including reformed Trump troll David Weissman.

Several months ago, Weissman, a U.S. Army veteran from New York now living in Israel wouldn’t have been found advocating for the newly sworn-in New York congresswoman. He was “a full-fledged, unapologetic, red-hat wearing Trumper,” he wrote in an Op-Ed for the Forward, referring to his support for President Trump.

Then came Sarah Silverman.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The comedian helped Weissman see the liberal side, and now he’s using his newly progressive voice to oppose Trump — and Ocasio-Cortez’s haters.

“Hey @AOC, just wanted to say that I thought the high school video of you dancing was awesome,” he tweeted on Friday. “It also shows your haters are desperate and pathetic, keep being you.” His tweet ended up in an article from the international Reuters newswire.

The same day he also stood up for Representative Rashida Tlaib, who on Thursday said that she wanted to “impeach that motherf—ker,” referring to Trump.

Alyssa Fisher is a news writer at the Forward. Email her at fisher@forward.com, or follow her on Twitter at @alyssalfisher

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount