Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Alexandria Ocasio-CortezHouse passes bill to avert shutdown Trump attacks Omar for criticizing US: 'How did you do where you came from?' The Memo: Dems face balancing act on SCOTUS fight MORE (D-N.Y.) said in an interview published Monday that President Trump Donald John TrumpOmar fires back at Trump over rally remarks: 'This is my country' Pelosi: Trump hurrying to fill SCOTUS seat so he can repeal ObamaCare Trump mocks Biden appearance, mask use ahead of first debate MORE has set a "racist tone" that is followed by many of her critics.

"I’m gonna be very frank: I think that this president has set a racist tone," Ocasio-Cortez told Vanity Fair. "I think he has set a tone of such strong misogyny, racism, conspiracy theory-ism."

Ocasio-Cortez suggested that her critics have seized on similar themes but asserted that the wave of barbs directed at her would not derail her political goals.

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"I think they saw a woman of color—Latina, no less—that came from a working-class and poor background, that ascended to federal office, and they said, 'We cannot allow this to have credibility, because if people saw that she did it, then maybe others will come—and we cannot let other people like her run for office. We need to make an example out of her,'" Ocasio-Cortez said.

"The reality of the situation is that if I don’t define this moment, and if I don’t use my voice, then they will fill the void," she added.

Ocasio-Cortez rose to prominence last year when she stunned the political world and defeated 10-term incumbent Rep. Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.) in a primary. She became the youngest woman ever elected to Congress in November.

She has since remained a fixture in the media and on Capitol Hill thanks to her prominent social media presence and support of progressive ideas such as the Green New Deal and a significantly higher tax rate on the wealthiest Americans.

The freshman congresswoman is one of several Democrats who have said they believe Trump is a racist.