Trump says AOC makes ‘old men shiver in fear’ during a speech to a group of old men, book claims

The former president says he respects his fellow New Yorker for ‘establishing herself as a leading progressive with national reach’

Donald Trump said Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez makes old men in the halls of Congress “shiver in fear” because her supporters are just like his, a new book claims.

The former president reportedly made the comments at a 2019 speech to 100 business leaders, including Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos and executives from JP Morgan, Boeing, and BlackRock.

“Let me tell you something about AOC. Let me tell you something about her. I’ve watched her walk down the halls of Congress, and I see these old men shiver in fear – they shiver in fear whenever they see her,” Mr Trump said.

“You want to know why? Because AOC has a base, just like me.”

The comments were revealed in the new book of The Washington Examiner journalist David Drucker, In Trump’s Shadow: The Battle for 2024 and the Future of the GOP, a preview copy of which was provided to The Daily Mail ahead of its release on 19 October.

Mr Trump’s one-liners hit differently at the closed-door Business Roundtable conference than at his MAGA rallies, with Mr Drucker reporting that the audience responded with only nervous laughter.

Among the gathered miscellaneous business leaders were the then president’s entourage, reportedly including Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, economic adviser Larry Kudlow, press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders and his daughter Ivanka Trump.

Mr Trump was making an early reelection pitch after the Democrats regained control of the House of Representatives in 2018, the book says.

Ms Ocasio-Cortez had defeated Democrat Joe Crowley in a primary and won her seat in New York’s reliably Democratic district, and ever since her supporters have been calling on her to challenge Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer in the same way.

“You definitely want to see me reelected if you want to keep being in business,” Mr Trump said, according to the new book.

“You’ve got this Green New Deal. It’s completely crazy. It’ll completely shut down American energy. And it’s from this failed geek, Alexandria Ocasio- Cortez. They call her AOC.”

Mr Drucker writes that Mr Trump went on to praise his fellow New York local, who he respected for “establishing herself as a leading progressive with national reach”.