Megyn Kelly said that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago on Monday was a mix between Hilaria Baldwin and the late Italian fascist dictator Benito Mussolini.
Kelly said on her Sirius XM podcast “The Megyn Kelly Show” that Ocasio-Cortez tried to imitate Barack Obama’s famous DNC speech from 2004 by employing an inauthentic accent and yelling louder than normal — likening it to an “assault.”
She said that those praising Ocasio-Cortez “mistake energy, or like enthusiasm, for effectiveness.”
“I mean, anyone can get up there and shout at you!” Kelly said, before raising her voice in a mocking tone.
“It doesn’t make you a good public speaker.”
Kelly said that Ocasio-Cortez reminded her of Baldwin, the wife of actor Alec Baldwin, who was criticized for appearing to speak with a Spanish accent even though she grew up in the United States.
Ocasio-Cortez’s mannerisms during her speech were also reminiscent of Mussolini, according to Kelly.
“She was a cross between Hilaria, who went to a fancy boarding school in either Boston or Rhode Island, and isn’t Spanish at all, and also this guy,” she said.
“You may remember him from World War II as the leader of Italy.”
On her podcast, Kelly proceeded to play a clip of Mussolini speaking to supporters from his balcony.
The Post has sought comment from Ocasio-Cortez.
The 34-year-old progressive legislator was criticized on social media in the wake of her rousing address to delegates which left many wondering what accent she was using.
Viral videos of one segment of the speech showed a riled-up Ocasio-Cortez taking aim at former President Donald Trump.
“I, for one, am tired of hearing about how a two-bit union buster thinks of himself as more of a patriot than the woman who fights every single day to lift working people from under the boots of greed, trampling on our way of life,” the congresswoman from Queens and the Bronx said.
Some critics accused her of adopting a Southern drawl as she shouted to the crowd.
“AOC speech was cringe. The fake accent was way too much for me. Back snapped. I called it. DNC is cringe as all get out,” one user posted on X.
“Preacher AOC debuting her new accent,” another wrote.
One critic chimed in: “Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez developed a new phony accent in the middle of delivering her very painful speech.”
Additional Reporting by Emily Crane
