Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez: Bid to embarrass US Congresswoman over dancing video backfires

Left-wing Democrat filmed performing a dance from 1985 film The Breakfast Club

An anonymous Twitter user’s bid to discredit Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez with a video of her dancing appears to have backfired after the US congresswoman received an outpouring of support.

The 30-second clip was tweeted on Thursday by an account named @AnonymousQ1776.

It was filmed while the politician was a student at Boston University and is part a longer video where Ms Ocasio-Cortez and other students perform a dance from The Breakfast Club to the song Lisztomania by Phoenix.

The video was one of a number of “Brat Pack Mash Ups” that swept the internet in 2010, the year before the politician graduated from university.

“Here is America’s favourite commie know-it-all acting like the clueless nitwit she is,” @AnonymousQ1776 wrote in a tweet accompanying the video.

The account was later deleted, after the derisive tweet attracted thousands of replies defending Ms Ocasio-Cortez and mocking the attempt to discredit her.

The anonymous post was widely criticised as a sexist and absurd attempt to stir up political scandal.

“She’ll never recover from the world seeing her ... dancing adorably and having fun with her friends,” comedian Patton Oswalt wrote in response to the viral tweet.

“Imagine what a major ass-head one would have to be to think that video of @AOC dancing is anything but adorable and endearing and charming,” wrote the actor Zach Braff.

Members of The Breakfast Club’s cast reacted with amusement to the clip.

“Alexandria you’re in the club,” Molly Ringwald, who starred in the movie, wrote on Twitter, in a post that was retweeted by fellow The Breakfast Club alum Ally Sheedy.

Ms Ocasio-Cortez is the youngest woman to ever be elected to the US Congress and is viewed a a rising star in the Democratic Party.

The left-wing politician, who is from New York, was sworn in to Congress on Thursday.