AOC 'Cautious About Words' When Answering One Question

Vanity Fair is out with a lengthy profile of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and both her supporters and critics might be interested that it notes she will be 35—barely—in 2024 and thus eligible to run for president. This already has chatter going in some circles about a potential primary between her and Kamala Harris. As you might expect, AOC is not going there in the interview, though she does make clear she isn't necessarily planning to make a career out of being a congresswoman. Highlights:

• Future: "I don’t know if I’m really going to be staying in the House forever, or if I do stay in the House, what that would look like," she says. "I don’t see myself really staying where I’m at for the rest of my life." The story by Michelle Ruiz notes "this is one of the few times AOC seems guarded and cautious about her words." More from AOC: "I don’t want to aspire to a quote-unquote higher position just for the sake of that title or just for the sake of having a different or higher position. I truly make an assessment to see if I can be more effective."

• Personal: The former bartender says she was able to afford a trip to a doctor and dentist for the first time in years after becoming a congresswoman. "You try buying insurance off of ObamaCare,” she says. AOC recalls paying $200 a month for a plan, all for the "privilege" of having an $8,000 deductible.
• The lipstick: The story notes that AOC has become an unintended "beauty influencer," with sales of the red gloss she uses (Stila’s Stay All Day Liquid in Beso) soaring. But it's not exactly frivolous: Ruiz writes that the gloss and hoop earrings AOC wore to her swearing-in were "a cosmetic Bat signal to Latina culture."
• Lipstick, II: AOC and the three other members of "the Squad"—Reps. Ayanna Pressley, Rashida Tlaib, and Ilhan Omar—have at this point "claimed crimson lips as as show of strength," writes Ruiz. Note that AOC wore her gloss during her denunciation of a male colleague's reference to her as a "b----." And as the four prepared for a press conference to respond to President Trump telling them to "go back" to where they're from, "Pressley called out, 'Who needs lipstick?' and passed around a tube," writes Ruiz. Says Pressley: "Now, any time we think a day is going to be especially trying, where one of us walks into a committee hearing wearing a bold red lip, we say, 'Oh, it’s about to go down.'"

Read the full profile. (AOC is expected to easily win re-election, but her race is still one of the most expensive in the nation.)