Skip to content

Something’s Fishy About That Turkey: Donations to AOC’s Food Drive Go to Her Campaign

    Thanksgiving food drives are in full swing across he country, and politicians have been lining up to take part. Food banks, churches, and other charitable organizations are raising money to provide turkeys and other holiday staples to needy families who may otherwise not have the means to provide a Thanksgiving meal.





    It’s a slam-dunk PR opportunity for the political class. A fundraising link to the local food bank on your official website, along with a few pictures of you, selflessly giving your time to hand out Thanksgiving meals to those less fortunate. Make sure there are a few pics of you with the kids. Nothing tugs at constituents’ heartstrings more than helping hungry children.

    As public relations events go, this one is a no-brainer.

    Unless you’re a no-good, low-down, money-grubbing leftist who tries to profit off the backs of those poor, hungry children.

    New York House Rep Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who has taken part in such food drives for several years, has found herself in some hot water after it was discovered that money that she’s been raising for turkeys is going directly into her campaign coffers.

    According to the article in the New York Post, AOC sent an email soliciting donations to buy turkeys, but the money raised went directly into her campaign accounts.

    From the Post:

    This fundraiser is for the birds.

    Power-hungry “Squad” member Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) cooked up a new way to have her cake and eat it too this Thanksgiving – by tying her annual turkey giveaway to her massive reelection campaign enterprise. And critics are crying fowl.

    “Thanksgiving is two weeks away,” the self-described “Bronx girl” wrote in an email pitch last week. “Will you chip in $5 or anything you can today to help us bring the joy of the holiday season into homes around NYC this year?”

    But clicking on the contribution link sends people directly to a campaign fundraising page operated by ActBlue, where donors are prompted to make a one-time or recurring monthly donation.

    Recommended

    Poultry puns aside, there’s something fishy going on here. Contributors are notified that their donations to AOC for Congress are not tax-deductible charitable donations.

    Donations made directly to a nonprofit food bank are tax-deductible.

    If nothing else, the optics are terrible. One would think AOC, who has mastered the art of the grift, would know better, and the shady setup is drawing criticism from both sides of the aisle.

    Like dozens of pols across Gotham, AOC has given away hundreds of gobblers since 2019, but as rumors swirl about her run for Senate or even the White House in 2028, she decided to change her fundraising recipe.

    Instead of having supporters send donations directly to community organizations organizing turkey drives — like she did in 2021 when she reported raising $33,589.64 for three local charities — she’s having people send money to her campaign.

    “A campaign is not supposed to be a pass-through for charitable work,” said former City Council Minority Leader Joe Borelli. “What if she raised enough money for a million turkeys? Would she buy a million turkeys, or would she keep $990,000 for her campaign and then throw the rest of the turkeys out the back of a truck and take a photo-op?

    “This is a clear case of why a campaign is not a charitable organization,” he added.

    City Councilman Robert Holden (D-Queens) — who’s hosted turkey drives of his own without seeking donations from the public — agreed.

    “Socialists like AOC and Mamdani love to promise everything for free, but somehow it always ends with them shaking down working people under the guise of community good will,” he told The Post. 

    “It is a typical bait and switch, pretending to be for the people while quietly pillaging them for every dollar they can get.”





    AOC’s Campaign Manager, Oliver Hidalgo-Wohlleben, is defending the move and took to social media to announce that not only did the fundraiser provide 1,600 turkeys to families in New York, but an additional $20,000 was donated to local food pantries, claiming that all the money raised was spent on the Thanksgiving food drive.

    If true, then why not just send the money directly to the charitable organizations in the first place?

    It should be noted that what she’s doing, no matter how underhanded and shady it appears, is not illegal. According to the FEC, the campaign is not required to disclose how much of the money raised was actually spent on its stated intent.

    The FEC told The Post politicians who solicit donations on behalf of community organizations – like AOC did in her email blast – are not required to disclose how much they raise through the solicitation or how they spend those specific funds — meaning there’s no official way to know how many of those dollars turn into actual turkeys, or if voters are just getting stuffed.

    AOC’s campaign refused to explain why it changed its recipe this time.

    The campaign’s refusal to explain why it funneled charitable donations through campaign accounts makes the entire operation look shady, even if it was on the up and up.





    They do it because it works. AOC might not be the brightest bulb in the chandelier, but she knows how to make money.

    AOC turned an easy PR opportunity into a shady fundraising debacle, and this turkey wants to be your president.


    Editor’s Note: Help us continue to report the truth about corrupt politicians like AOC. 

    Join Twitchy VIP and use promo code FIGHT to get 60% off your membership.





    twitchy.com (Article Sourced Website)

    #Somethings #Fishy #Turkey #Donations #AOCs #Food #Drive #Campaign

    Related posts:

    The Democratic Party is offering a false choice between socialism and technocracy

    'The socialism of freedom' - LabourList

    Newslinks for Sunday 23rd November 2025 | Conservative Home

    Some Thoughts On The Texas Gerrymandering Case