Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has drawn criticism from conservatives after appearing to brush aside controversial positions once associated with the progressive "squad", including calls to defund the police, by dismissing them as part of a "Woke 1" era now in the past. The remarks, made during a US television interview, have been seized upon by Republican and conservative commentators as an attempt to distance herself and the Democratic Party from earlier left-wing rhetoric ahead of future elections.

Ocasio-Cortez made the comments during an appearance on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday, when she was pressed on socialist-linked positions taken by other Democratic candidates. She reportedly laughed off past "defund the police" comments, joking that the earlier period of progressive politics was "crazy". The remarks have added to a wider ongoing debate within the Democratic Party, with commentators and rival politicians highlighting tensions between moderate Democrats and further-left socialist figures over policing, taxation and other issues.