Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Says ‘There Are Chances’ the US ‘Already Had a Gay President’

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is not ruling out the possibility that an American president was gay.

On Wednesday, April 28, the New York congresswoman, 36, spoke to TMZ cameras outside of Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., and was asked if she thinks the country is “going to have a female president first or a gay president?”

“Well, we don’t know if we’ve already had a gay president,” Ocasio-Cortez (nicknamed “AOC:)  replied. “I think there are chances that maybe we have, but I don’t know.”

While it’s unclear who the politician was referring to, people have speculated that President James Buchanan — who was in office from 1857 to 1861 — was gay, as he never married. When Buchanan was in Congress, he would share lodging with North Carolina Senator William Rufus King, with whom he had a close relationship, according to History.com.

As for the potential of a woman becoming commander-in-chief one day, AOC said, “Anything can happen.”

“I don’t really buy into the skepticism. A man has lost almost every presidential election as well,” she pointed out. “When it comes to women, you know, I think it’s more about what we’re actually fighting for, right, as opposed to the body that we’re in.”

“I think it’s about not taking big money, fixing campaign finance reform, and trying to fight for people, and you know, raise wages, and help people make a living,” the Democrat continued. “I think that if we have someone who fights for the right things and speaks to the right people, then maybe we can overcome the gender gap in that and be able to make history.”

The activist noted, “It’s really important we’re able to talk in a way that really speaks to people’s hearts.”