Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez declared Friday at the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics that the American colonists who broke from Britain were waging a class war—arguing they fought “the billionaires of their time” rather than a distant government.
Critics swiftly rejected her framing, emphasizing that the Revolution targeted British Crown and Parliament, not wealthy individuals. The Founding Fathers themselves included prominent figures like George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, and Thomas Jefferson who were among the wealthiest men in colonial America.
Senator Mike Lee directly countered Ocasio-Cortez’s claim, stating the Declaration of Independence lists grievances against King George III but contains no reference to wealthy colonists as the problem. “The entire document is an indictment of state power exercised without consent,” Lee noted.
Senator Ted Cruz echoed the critique, asserting that a ninth-grade student writing Ocasio-Cortez’s phrasing on a history test would receive an F. He stressed that the Revolution was a revolt against oppressive government—fueled in part by American free enterprise during wartime.
Ocasio-Cortez also expanded her remarks to propose economic reforms, including single-payer healthcare, living wages, and workers’ rights. She sidestepped questions about her potential 2028 presidential ambitions, stating her “ambition was bigger than that.”
Historians clarify the Revolution targeted British taxation without representation, quartering soldiers in private homes, and dissolution of colonial legislatures—not concentrated private wealth. The Founders risked their lives to limit state power, a narrative Ocasio-Cortez’s framing contradicts rather than aligns with.
