Overview

• Renewed scrutiny followed her self-description as a “Bronx girl” on X after she clashed with President Trump over U.S. strikes on Iran.
• Republican Assemblyman Matt Slater shared a yearbook photo showing Ocasio-Cortez as a freshman at Yorktown High School to question the depth of her Bronx persona.
• Former Yorktown science teacher Michael Blueglass recalls that classmates nicknamed her “Sandy,” underscoring her Westchester County background.
• Snopes located a 2018 campaign website reference to a “40-minute commute” between Yorktown High and her family’s home in the Bronx, fueling the debate.
• Ocasio-Cortez maintains that growing up between the Bronx and Yorktown shaped her views on economic inequality and informs her policy focus.