Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Grills Ted Cruz On Twitter With Her Résumé Of Credentials

At this point, it seems like almost everyone has attempted to take on Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on Twitter. Though the masses have tried, failed, and tried again, Friday morning’s victim was Sen. Ted Cruz.

AOC, a prominent member of the progressive freshman “Squad” of congresswomen, took to Twitter on Wednesday to point out the irony of President Trump’s highly-criticized decision to put Vice President Mike Pence in charge of the coronavirus outbreak in the United States.

“Mike Pence literally does not believe in science,” she tweeted earlier this week in response to his appointment. “It is utterly irresponsible to put him in charge of US coronavirus response as the world sits on the cusp of a pandemic. This decision could cost people their lives. Pence’s past decisions already have.”

Ocasio-Cortez pointed to reports e that detailed Pence’s problematic history addressing health crises in Indiana while he was governor. During his tenure, Pence was responsible for perpetuating one of the worst HIV outbreaks in the state’s history, which saw 20 new cases a day. She said that Pence’s “science denial” contributed to the outbreak, and reminded folks that the vice president is not a medical doctor or a health expert. 

Cruz, who was in no way cited in this pubic address, responded to AOC on Thursday, asking three condescending questions in a series of tweets: “As you are speaking as the oracle of science, tell us, what exactly is a Y chromosome?” He continued asking her about what age an “unborn child feels pain,” and which country produced the greatest total reduction in CO2 emissions last year, essentially questioning her knowledge of scientific data as she sought to call out Pence.

That response, as Cruz has probably learned (and not for the first time) was a big mistake. Big. Huge. This morning, AOC responded — and she brought her résumé.

Turns out AOC was given an award for microbiology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, which led to the MIT Lincoln Lab naming an asteroid after her: 23238 Ocasio-Cortez. She linked to an article that explained her prize-winning project at the 2007 Intel International Science and Engineering Fair in microbiology. Her project found that “antioxidants could potentially help prevent degenerative illnesses induced by oxidative stress,” according to the QZ report. 

She then hit back at Cruz, hard, writing, “Secondly, I’m surprised you’re asking about chromosomes given that you don’t even believe in evolution.”

Cruz has yet to respond, but it’s likely they might have to speak again at some point. While the two usually duke it out on Twitter about anything from science to the minimum wage, less than a year ago a tweet brought the two together as allies. 

In May, AOC tweeted in support of legislation that would ban former members of Congress from becoming lobbyists. Cruz responded and said, “Here’s something I don’t say often: I agree with @AOC.” She responded and said, “Let’s make a deal.” As of last summer, Ocasio-Cortez and Cruz were still working on the bill to drain the swamp. It’s unclear how Friday’s exchange might muddy those waters, but at the very least, it will likely put Cruz into Twitter hiding for a little while.