Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) found herself defending her childhood narrative after a Republican state assemblyman revealed her yearbook photograph from an affluent suburban high school.
The controversy erupted when State Assemblyman Matt Slater entered an ongoing social media battle between Ocasio-Cortez and President Donald Trump.
The exchange began after the progressive congresswoman demanded Trump’s impeachment over unauthorized airstrikes against Iran.
Slater directly challenged Ocasio-Cortez’s claims about her Bronx identity by posting her freshman yearbook photo from Yorktown High School.
The Republican lawmaker accompanied the image with pointed questions about her suburban upbringing in Westchester County.
“If you’re a BX girl then why are you in my Yorktown yearbook?” Slater wrote on X.
“Give it up already.”
The assemblyman shared two images: a black-and-white photograph of a young Ocasio-Cortez and the 2004 Yorktown High School yearbook cover.
Yorktown Heights sits approximately 40 minutes from the Bronx in affluent Westchester County.
Online users began circulating information about Ocasio-Cortez’s childhood home in Yorktown Heights, which reportedly carries a current value exceeding half a million dollars.
The scrutiny prompted the congresswoman to address allegations about her privileged upbringing.
“I’m proud of how I grew up and talk about it all the time! My mom