AOC campaign funds Benefit From Turkey Giveaway Solicitation
WASHINGTON, D.C. – An email blast from Representative alexandria ocasio-Cortez’s campaign soliciting donations for a Thanksgiving turkey giveaway directs funds to her campaign coffers, not directly to community organizations, according to a report by The New York Post.
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) confirmed that politicians are not required to disclose how much money is raised through solicitations for community organizations or how those funds are spent, leaving the public without a clear accounting of how donations translate into aid.
This year, AOC’s campaign manager, Oliver Hidalgo-Wohlleben, stated, “For our Thanksgiving turkey fundraiser, we set a goal that we raise towards and if we surpass it then we order more.”
Despite claiming to have provided over 1,600 turkeys in the bronx and raised an additional $20,000 for local food pantries in a recent Instagram story viewed by her 9.5 million followers, discrepancies have emerged regarding past donation numbers. AOC stated she distributed 600 turkeys in 2024, while a campaign video from that same year claimed 1,000 turkeys were given out. In 2021, she reported distributing 650 turkeys. The campaign did not respond to inquiries regarding these inconsistencies.
Kiersten Pels, spokesperson for the Republican National Committee, criticized the fundraising effort, stating, “Ocasio-Cortez is running a con under the guise of a charity drive…Slapping a ’turkey’ label on a campaign fundraiser to trick voters into thinking they’re helping charities is exactly the kind of scam that she and the socialist wing of the Democratic party rely on.”
