United States Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) has suggested that America may already have had a gay president, pushing back on a question that assumed no past commander-in-chief was attracted to men.
The New York congresswoman, 36, spoke to reporters outside Capitol Hill on Wednesday, April 28, and was asked whether the country would have a female or a gay president first. “Well, we don’t know if we’ve already had a gay president,” she replied. “I think there are chances that maybe we have, but I don’t know.”
Historians have long speculated about President James Buchanan, who served from 1857 to 1861 and never married. During his time in Congress, Buchanan shared lodgings with North Carolina Senator William Rufus King, with whom he maintained a notably close relationship. Other commentators have pointed to Abraham Lincoln, whose intimate friendship with Joshua Speed has been the subject of books and documentaries, including the film “Lover of Men: The Untold History of Abraham Lincoln.” Such claims remain debated among scholars.
Ocasio-Cortez was also asked whether Democrats would hesitate to nominate another woman for president following the defeats of Hillary Clinton and Kamala Harris. She said she did not buy into the skepticism, adding that “a man has lost almost every presidential election.”
Her remarks quickly drew a political reaction. The Republican National Committee’s official social media account reposted the clip with an image of former President Barack Obama, appearing to suggest its own candidate for the distinction, though historians have not made such a case for Obama.
Ocasio-Cortez’s comments reflect broader ongoing conversations about representation in American political history and what assumptions underpin debates about firsts in the presidency. She has been widely discussed as a potential Democratic presidential contender for 2028, though she has not confirmed any such plans.
