AOC on 2028: 'Life Doesn't Wait for You to Be Ready'

One of the bigger questions for Democrats looking ahead to 2028 is whether Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will run for president—or perhaps for Charles Schumer's Senate seat. In a relatively candid interview with the New York Times, the 36-year-old says she's already considering everything. "There's an argument that some make that this is a very unique political window and, oftentimes in politics, you do only get one shot," she tells Shane Goldmacher. "And you don't—and just in life in general—life doesn't wait for you to be ready for things. Sometimes life just makes things ready for you."

Ocasio-Cortez also confronts what she calls the "headwinds" of running for president as both a woman and a Latina, particularly one who is polarizing nationally. And then there's the personal factor: The congresswoman recently went public about freezing her eggs. "Every element of this is something that's within consideration," she says. That includes making her peace with the idea that running for president means being "done" in Congress. "And I am not opposed to that," she adds. "But it has to make it worth it." Read the full interview, in which she tells Goldmacher that she has spoken to Kamala Harris about all this, but declined to reveal details of their personal conversation.