An attempt to embarrass Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the youngest ever US Congresswoman, by publishing a college video of her dancing has instead led to a swell of support.

Ms Ocasio-Cortez was sworn in on Thursday as the new-look Democrat-controlled House of Representatives took their seats.

The 30-second video shared on Twitter showed Ms Ocasio-Cortez dancing on the roof of a building in a student production.

In a tweet, a user named AnonymousQ, who has since deleted their account, wrote: “Here is America’s favorite commie know-it-all acting like the clueless nitwit she is”.

Twitter users responded by sharing their delight and praise for Ms Ocasio-Cortez, who was elected to represent New York’s 14th congressional district in November's midterms.

Actor Russell Crowe said the dance was “fantastic”, and told his followers that “the more politicians we have like AOC the sooner we’ll all be dancing”.