AOC crumbles on foreign policy, and JD Vance is turning it into his favorite talking point

Vice President JD Vance sharply criticized Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez for what he called “embarrassing” moments at the Munich Security Conference, even calling one instance “the most uncomfortable 20 seconds of television” he had ever seen. Vance made these remarks during an appearance on “The Story,” where his comments about Ocasio-Cortez’s performance at the conference drew significant attention.

Vance said he believes Ocasio-Cortez, who is often mentioned as a potential 2028 Democratic presidential candidate, is simply “mouthing slogans” written by someone else. He questioned whether anyone genuinely believes she has “very thoughtful ideas about the global world order” or about U.S. policies in Asia or Europe. President Trump echoed a similar view, saying Ocasio-Cortez’s responses were “not a good look” for the country on the global stage.

One moment that drew Vance’s criticism was when Ocasio-Cortez mistakenly said Venezuela is located south of the equator. According to Fox News, this came up while she was criticizing Trump’s capture of former Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. She argued that while Maduro was an “anti-democratic leader” who canceled elections, that doesn’t justify “kidnapping a head of state and engage in acts of war just because the nation is below the equator.”

Vance’s criticism points to a deeper problem with Democratic foreign policy understanding

Another stumble came when Ocasio-Cortez was asked whether the U.S. should commit troops to defend Taiwan if China were to make a move. Her response was hesitant and filled with pauses. She said, “Um, you know, I think that this is such a, you know, I think that this is a um, this is, of course, a, um, very long-standing, um, policy of the United States.”

She continued: “I think what we are hoping for is that we want to make sure that we never get to that point, and we want to make sure that we are moving in all of our economic research and our global positions to avoid any such confrontation and for that question to even arise.”

Vance pointed to these incidents as proof that Ocasio-Cortez “doesn’t know what she actually thinks.” He said he sees a common problem in Washington, where politicians are “given lines and when you ask them to go outside the lines they were given, they completely fall apart.” Vance has made no secret of his strong opinions on cultural and political identity either, as seen in his controversial comments about American diversity and immigration.

His advice for Ocasio-Cortez was direct. Vance said that if he had given such answers, he would tell himself, “You know what? Maybe I ought to go read a book about China and Taiwan before I go out on the world stage again.” He then added that he hopes Ocasio-Cortez has “the same humility” to do so. This isn’t the first time Vance has sparked public debate, having previously drawn attention for his unusual historical claims about ancient societies.

Vance argued that Ocasio-Cortez’s performance in Munich highlights what he sees as “thin” Democratic policy on major foreign affairs. During the same interview, Vance also touched on the Trump administration’s efforts to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons and hinted at a possible 2028 presidential run for himself.