Conservative Radio Host Calls Ocasio-Cortez ‘Transgendered’ Joe Biden, Issues Apology

Conservative MSNBC pundit and radio host Hugh Hewitt issued an apology after describing newly elected Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) as “transgendered” during Tuesday’s edition of his syndicated radio show.

After calling the 29-year-old congresswoman a “wonderful person” who is “sparkling with youthful energy, unmoved by her inexperience, confident in her lack of knowledge, and completely charismatic,” Hewitt played a clip of Ocasio-Cortez calling climate change “our World War II.”

After characterizing her comments as a gaffe, Hewitt declared, “Joe Biden has actually gone through the time machine and transgendered into Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. This was Joe Biden—she is going to fill the Biden gap. The Biden gap concerned me. Someday Joe will leave the public stage and we will not have people who will say outlandish things. But now the Biden gap is filled.”

In response to the backlash, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted on Tuesday: “For some reason GOP seems to think this is a gaffe, but it’s actually a generational difference. Young people understand that climate change is an existential threat.”

For some reason GOP seems to think this is a gaffe, but it’s actually a generational difference.

Young people understand that climate change is an existential threat: 3,000 Americans died in Hurricane María.

The UN says we’ve got 12 years left to fix it: https://t.co/KzawP5oI1M https://t.co/xTjtM39cCL

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) January 22, 2019

Within hours, Hewitt apologized, writing: “Apologies. Bad word choice on a sensitive subject.”

Apologies. Bad word choice on a sensitive subject. https://t.co/xc2wmICeVK

— Hugh Hewitt (@hughhewitt) January 22, 2019