A former New York City council member and state senator has joined the list of lifelong Democrats turning their backs on Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D) and Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) and throwing their support behind New York Republicans.
Ocasio-Cortez's own constituents heckled the "Squad" progressive for her radical agenda during a recent town hall event where a Q&A session turned awry.
"You're a coward. You're a progressive socialist? You have done nothing," one speaker shouted. "Tulsi Gabbard has shown guts where you've shown cowardice. I believed in you and you became the very thing you sought to fight against," he added.
Rev. Ruben Diaz, Sr. echoed the disdain for Ocasio-Cortez and her policies on Thursday's "Fox & Friends First," where he told Todd Piro that she lost his support some time ago.
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"She lost me a long time ago when she opposed the 25,000 jobs that Amazon wanted to bring to New York," he said.
Diaz said AOC's Amazon opposition was only one of the reasons he has decided to throw his support behind her Republican challenger Tina Forte, citing the anti-police and open border stances among others Ocassio-Cortez has taken.
"[Progressives] were releasing criminals into the street, favoring the open borders, allowing all kinds of people to come through the borders without checking. She opposes the police officers in the subways…" he added.
Diaz, who also serves as the president of New York's Hispanic Clergy Organization, told Piro that Hispanics are walking away from AOC and her radical policies and looking to her opponent.
"The Hispanic community – I'm a Hispanic – we are turning. We are turning, and we are fed up," he said.
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"We are asking everyone to vote for Tina Forte… even though I am a Hispanic, I am asking the Hispanic community, my parishioners, my fellow ministers to vote for Tina Forte…"
Diaz added that he is "definitely" supporting Rep. Lee Zeldin, R-N.Y., in the tightening gubernatorial face-off with Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), adding that he is championing other Hispanics to support Zeldin at the polls as well.
"I believe that Lee Zeldin will be our next governor, and Tina Forte will be our next congresswoman," he said.
