Welcome to Trump’s America, The i Paper’s World Insight series presenting the sharpest, deepest thinking on an era-defining shift in history and politics, investigating how Donald Trump and his administration have changed the US and the world – and where we go from here.
• $120,000 should be a great salary. In these US states, it isn’t• ‘We never changed, Trump did’: Maga’s insurgency against its own leader• The more America spends on healthcare, the sicker it gets
“Don’t be weird about this, even though I know all of you will be”. This is how American Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, aged 36 and reportedly newly single, began her announcement on Instagram that she was freezing her eggs with the hope of having a family in the future. True to form, as arguably the most social media-fluent politician of her generation, she recorded the entire process online, filming herself injecting medication while talking politics and policy.
At a time when Republican efforts to increasingly restrict women’s reproductive choices are an ongoing battle, and in a country where millions cannot afford access to basic healthcare, egg freezing is rich political terrain. By telling the world she is exercising control over her fertility to accommodate her career, AOC is further testing the murky and unforgiving waters of being a woman in politics.
