Old Video of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Dancing Goes Viral After Botched Attempt to Shame Congresswoman

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) may have inadvertently won an army of new fans on Thursday after a video of her dancing leaked and went viral—footage that right-wing Twitter users had apparently circulated in a misguided attempt to undermine her. A right-wing Twitter account that shared the clip—which has since been viewed more than 8 million times, and has unintentionally elicited widespread messages of support for the new congresswoman—blasted out, “...High School video of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez -- Congratulations New York!” Another conservative Twitter account also shared the clip, calling Ocasio-Cortez a “clueless nitwit,” with others likening her to Sandy from the musical Grease. The viral clip, which had been shortened and edited to include ominous drumming in the background, actually came from an upbeat promotional video featuring Boston University students in which Ocasio-Cortez cheerfully performed dance moves from the Breakfast Club to the song “Lisztomania” by Phoenix. The original video was posted on YouTube in September 2010.