FACT CHECK: Did Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Say, ‘There Are Homeless People Out There Who Can’t Pay Their Mortgage’?

Elias Atienza | Senior Reporter

An image shared on Facebook claims Democratic New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez said, “There are homeless people out there who can’t pay their mortgage.”

Also featured in the image is a quote attributed to former Vice President Joe Biden.

Verdict: False

There is no evidence Ocasio-Cortez ever said the quote attributed to her in the post. It seems to have originated in a 2013 Saturday Night Live sketch. The Daily Caller previously debunked a variation of the quote attributed to Biden.

Fact Check: 

The March 27 post attributes to the two Democratic politicians seemingly contradictory statements: Ocasio-Cortez is quoted as saying, “There are homeless people out there who can’t pay their mortgage,” while Biden is credited with saying, “People will die, who have never died before.”

The Daily Caller didn’t find any evidence that Ocasio-Cortez ever made the statement attributed to her in the Facebook post, however. Searching her social media accounts and ProPublica’s archive of her deleted tweets didn’t turn up any matches. Nor have any credible media outlets quoted her as saying it.

The quote appears to have originated in a 2013 Saturday Night Live sketch – “Weekend Update: Girl You Wish You Hadn’t Started a Conversation with on Christmas” – that features comedians Cecily Strong and Seth Meyers.

WATCH:

“You need to wake up and smell the music, Seth,” Strong’s character says at one point. “There are homeless people out there who can’t even pay their mortgages.” (RELATED: Did Ocasio-Cortez Say, ‘Truck Drivers Are Destroying America’?)

The Caller previously debunked a variation of the quote attributed to Biden. The variation appeared nowhere on his Twitter account, in transcripts of his most recent debates or in the transcripts and videos of his other recent public speaking events.

Elias Atienza

Senior Reporter
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