Cenk Uygur Calls Out Brian Stelter for Lack of Attention to Ocasio-Cortez Candidacy: ‘You Guys Weren’t There for Her’

Though Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) didn’t receive a wave of mainstream media attention before it became clear she’d be elected to Congress, not everyone is willing to forgive and forget.

Cenk Uygur, founder of The Young Turks Network, an online news outlet that has covered her extensively, blasted CNN’s Brian Stelter on Sunday for remarking on her use of social media, appearing to suggest she should be accepting more TV interviews.

“You say she doesn’t do enough interviews on television now, but let’s be fair; when she needed those interviews, you guys weren’t there for her,” Uygur said.

“But our job isn’t to be there for anybody,” Stelter replied in defense.

Uygur, however, explained it was about a lot more than “being there or not,” slamming Stelter for not covering her candidacy early on.

“It’s about you guys didn’t think she had a chance, so you didn’t give her any outlet at all, and so the people in her district didn’t get a real sense of who had the better point of view” he said. “She overcame that anyway and went on to win, so if you think, ‘Hey, she’s got to go on television to speak to the people,’ apparently, she didn’t. She had to go on the Young Turks and social media to speak to the media and she did and she won.”

Continuing, Uygur contended that Ocasio-Cortzes owes nothing to cable news, adding that “she can go on and make her case anywhere she likes, and it’s incredibly effective.”

But New York Magazine‘s Olivia Nuzzi pointed out that the congresswoman is now an elected official, which comes with certain responsibilities toward the public.

“She certainly owes the media, the public her voice in answering questions,” Nuzzi said, noting that while she understood Uygur’s  point, she didn’t fine the media’s treatment of Ocasio-Cortez “particularly unusual.”

“She’s not running for president. I think then it would be a different story.”

Watch the clip above via CNN.

[Featured image via screengrab]