Lindsey Graham trolls AOC by saying he 'totally agrees with Obama' that the firebrand should have a 'prominent place' among the Democrats knowing her socialist politics sows division within her own party

South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham is trolling Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. on Twitter after former President Barack Obama said that she should have a more prominent platform in the Democratic party, 'in the spirit of unity.'

'In the spirit of unity, I completely agree with President @BarackObama's request that the Democratic Party allow a prominent place for @AOC and her socialist message,' Senator Graham wrote on Twitter in a deliberate dig at Ocasio-Cortez politics.    

'It's always good to find bipartisan agreement!' he added. 

Graham's backing comes knowing that Ocasio-Cortez's leftist political views are not popular with other wings of the party and have led to infighting among the ranks.

South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham trolled Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y on Twitter saying she should have a more prominent platform in the Democratic party

Graham's remark was seen as trolling because after intra-party fighting broke out among Democrats after election day

Barack Obama said in an interview that aired Wednesday that Democrats still struggle to embrace socialism in the party. 'Socialism is still a loaded term for a lot of folks,' he said. 'Instead of talking labels and ideology, we should focus on talking about getting certain things done'

Graham's tweet came after Obama gave an interview to Snapchat's 'Good Luck America,' where he stated socialism remains a 'loaded term' for Democrats.

'Socialism is still a loaded term for a lot of folks. Once again, instead of talking labels and ideology, we should focus on talking about getting certain things done,' Obama said. 

'The Democratic National Convention I thought was really successful considering the pandemic, and really used technology wisely,' Obama began, 'but, you know, the fact that an AOC only got, what, three minutes or five minutes? When she speaks to a broad section of young people who are interested in what she has to say, even if they don't agree with everything she says?' 

'You give her a platform, just like there may be some other young Democrats who come from more conservative areas who have a different point of view,' he continued. 'New blood is always good. And I say that as somebody who used to be the young, shiny cool guy. But now is the gray-haired old grizzled vet.' 

Ocasio-Cortez, popularly referred to as AOC, had a one-and-a-half-minute speaking slot at the DNC where she seconded the nomination for Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders for president rather than Obama's VP Joe Biden. 

Some have blamed leftists' socialism-friendly messaging and the 'defund the police' movement of which Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y. was at the helm of in Congress for the Democrats poor performance in the election when it came to House seats

Sanders and AOC both identify as Democratic socialists and the New York freshman representative volunteered on his 2016 campaign before seeking public office herself.

The duo have been leading the charge on progressive initiatives, including on climate and environmental issues and healthcare but after Election Day, intra-party fighting broke out among Democrats.

Some have blamed leftists' socialism-friendly messaging and the 'defund the police' movement. 

Obama said Democrats need to focus more on 'promoting young people.'

'We stick so long with the same old folks and don't make room for new voices,' he said. 

AOC did not mention the president in her tweets but argued that the phrase was what helped bring national attention to America's issue with police brutality

'Because people, young people, folks my age, people generally don't listen to a bunch of policy analysis,' he continued. 'But they do remember a story that I tell - let's unify the country. Or here's how I understand race based on my relationship within my own family that has people of different races. That's what folks can relate to.'

He reiterated that using labels is a losing point, particularly pointing to the 'defund police' movement, of which AOC is at the helm in Congress.

'You lost a big audience the minute you say it, which makes it a lot less likely that you're actually going to get the changes you want done,' he said. 'The key is deciding, do you want to actually get something done, or do you want to feel good among the people you already agree with?'

'But if you instead say, 'Let's reform the police department so that everybody's being treated fairly, you know divert young people from getting into crime, and if there was a homeless guy, can maybe we send a mental health worker there instead of an armed unit that could end up resulting in a tragedy?' Suddenly a whole bunch of folks who might not otherwise listen to you are listening to you,' Obama advised.  

At the same time, Obama defended Democratic socialist Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, claiming the Democratic Party should give her more of a platform because she resonates with young people

Despite praise from Obama, Ocasio-Cortez appeared to fire back on Wednesday after the former president suggested in the interview that political candidates and activists can alienate voters when they use 'snappy' slogans like 'Defund the Police.' 

'What if activists aren't PR firms for politicians & their demands are bc police budgets are exploding, community resources are shrinking to bankroll it, & ppl brought this up for ages but it wasn't until they said 'defund' that comfortable people started paying attn to brutality,' Ocasio-Cortez responded on Twitter. 

'The thing that critics of activists don't get is that they tried playing the 'polite language' policy game and all it did was make them easier to ignore,' she continued. 'It wasn't until they made folks uncomfortable that there was traction to do ANYTHING even if it wasn't full demands.'