NEW YORK _ Newly-sworn Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez went there.
Responding to a question from Anderson Cooper on CBS's "60 Minutes," she said President Trump is racist.
"You don't talk about President Trump very much," Cooper said.
"No," she replied. "Because I think he's a symptom of a problem."
Cooper asked the 29-year-old congresswoman what that meant.
"The president certainly didn't invent racism," Ocasio-Cortez said. "But he's certainly given a voice to it and expanded it and created a platform for those things."
"Do you believe President Trump is a racist?" Cooper asked.
"Yeah. Yeah. No question," Ocasio-Cortez replied.
Cooper asked her to explain why.
"When you look at the words that he uses, which are historic dog whistles of white supremacy," she answered. "When you look at how he reacted to the (August 2017) Charlottesville incident, where neo-Nazis murdered a woman, versus how he manufactures crises like immigrants seeking legal refuge on our borders, it's � it's night and day."
The White House called Ocasio-Cortez's characterization of Trump as a racist "pure ignorance." White House officials noted Trump's recent support and signing of criminal justice reform, and told "60 Minutes" he has "repeatedly condemned racism and bigotry in all forms."
Ocasio-Cortez, one of the youngest congresspeople ever elected, was among 127 women sworn in on Jan. 3. The Democrat represents parts of the Bronx and Queens.
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