Claire McCaskill derides Ocasio-Cortez' popularity among Democrats, and gives her a warning

Outgoing Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) is being criticized for statements she made about Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) in a CNN interview.

McCaskill, who lost her re-election bid in the 2018 midterm elections, said that she couldn't understand why Ocasio-Cortez was so popular, but she offered her a friendly note of warning.

"I don't know her," McCaskill said of the firebrand Socialist Democrat.

"I'm a little confused why she's the thing," she explained. "But it's a good example of what I'm talking about, a bright shiny new object, came out of nowhere and surprised people when she beat a very experienced congressman."

Ocasio-Cortez stunned the political world when she defeated a Democratic party boss who was widely seen to be in line for the House speakership after House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). She was easily elected in the far left district after her surprise victory in the primary.

McCaskill cited her as an example of Democrats trying to appease the electorate with "shiny new objects" instead of liberal policies that might be less popular.

"And so she's now talked about a lot," McCaskill continued. "I'm not sure what she's done yet to generate that kind of enthusiasm, but I wish her well. I hope she hangs the moon."

'The rhetoric is cheap'

McCaskill also gave a warning to the progressive star about how political popularity works.

"But I hope she also realizes that the parts of the country that are rejecting the Democratic Party," McCaskill said, "like a whole lot of white working class voters, need to hear about how their work is going to be respected, and the dignity of their jobs, and how we can really stick to issues that we can actually accomplish something on."

"The rhetoric is cheap," she concluded. "Getting results is a lot harder."

Defenders of the Socialist Democrat fired back at McCaskill on social media, with New York state Sen. Mike Gianaris‏ (D) responding, "Queens residents are not confused."

"[Ocasio-Cortez] pushes bold change at a time people are sick of politics as usual," he added. "National Dems should learn rather than deride."

Here's the Fox News commentary on McCaskill deriding Ocasio-Cortez: