It’s reasonable to suggest that Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez should have been better prepared for a question about China and Taiwan. During her appearance last weekend at the Munich Security Conference — which may or may not have been an index of her interest in higher political office — the New York congresswoman who has become an international left-wing celebrity created the kind of headlines no one in politics wants to see.
In a now-infamous viral moment from a Munich panel discussion, Ocasio-Cortez fumbled her way through her initial response to a question that, in all fairness, is one of the most difficult in contemporary international relations: Should the U.S. commit to defending Taiwan with military force in the event of a Chinese invasion? The correct and succinct answer, I would argue, is no. But no one in American politics, left, right or center, can afford to say that straight up. Here is how she responded:
