Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) ignited a furor amongst right-wingers online as she pushed back on Wednesday against talk of Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan being ousted after the presidential election.
“Let me make this clear, since billionaires have been trying to play footsie with the ticket: Anyone goes near Lina Khan and there will be an out and out brawl,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on X. “And that is a promise. She proves this admin fights for working people. It would be terrible leadership to remove her.”
Khan, a nominee from President Joe Biden, has garnered supporters from both parties during her tenure, including an increasing number of Republicans—among them, GOP vice presidential nominee Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio), who in February described her “as one of the few people in the Biden administration that I think is doing a pretty good job.”
Prior to Biden dropping out of the presidential race, another four years of Khan helming the FTC seemed inevitable—much to the chagrin of Khan’s most vocal critics.
But now, Khan’s future seems less guaranteed, as billionaire backers of Harris voice their discontent with her antitrust activities.
Billionaire Democratic donors Barry Diller and Reid Hoffman have both publicly advocated for Harris to replace Khan if she wins the election in November.
Billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban joined the mix on Tuesday, telling Semafor that it was him, he wouldn’t keep Khan on.
“By trying to break up the biggest tech companies, you risk our ability to be the best in artificial intelligence,” Cuban said.
As chair of the FTC, Khan has not shied away from picking fights with companies such as Amazon, Microsoft, CVS, and UnitedHealth.
While supporters applaud Khan’s efforts as pro-consumer, critics such as Hoffman think her work equates to “waging war on American business.”
Ocasio-Cortez’s post defending Khan came directly in response to Cuban’s remarks, but many of her critics are taking her words to insinuate a physical threat.
“please stop threatening violence if you don’t get your way,” responded one person.
“AOC woke up and chose violence,” wrote another right-wing account that also tagged the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s X account.
“Did a sitting ‘Congresswoman’ just threaten violence?” asked another account before adding: “Not that it matters because she’s not intimidating and the last two times she tried to be cool and tough for others, those two candidates got smoked and are now unemployed.”
Questioned someone else: “Why are you suggesting violence?”
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