“We are on the verge of an authoritarian administration,” stated Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., during a series of posts to her social media followers on Sunday.

A visibly upset Ocasio-Cortez turned to Instagram throughout the day to share her thoughts on developments involving President-elect Donald Trump. Her comments touched on various issues, including recent updates from the social media platform TikTok.

Earlier in the day, TikTok users received a notification referencing Trump in connection with the app’s future. The message read:
“A law banning TikTok has been enacted in the U.S. Unfortunately, that means you can’t use TikTok for now. We are fortunate that President Trump has indicated that he will work with us on a solution to reinstate TikTok once he takes office. Please stay tuned.”

In her Instagram stories, Ocasio-Cortez criticized the language of the notification, emphasizing that Trump is not currently in office.
“First of all, Donald Trump is not president right now. He is a private citizen. He does not have access to presidential powers, he does not have the ability to do any of that,” she explained.

The congresswoman went on to suggest that TikTok’s statement could indicate collaboration with Trump or his incoming administration.
“They’re signaling that they have agreed to privately collaborate with Donald Trump and the Trump administration,” she said, expressing concern over the implications.
“And for all of those concerns that people were saying TikTok is going to be used as a propaganda tool by the Chinese, understand they’re using it as a propaganda tool for the right,” she added.

Ocasio-Cortez concluded her initial posts with a stark warning:
“We are on the verge of an authoritarian administration. This is what 21st-century fascism is starting to look like.”

Later that evening, the congresswoman returned to Instagram, addressing questions she said she had been receiving about whether she planned to attend Trump’s inauguration on Monday.
“All these journalists were like, ‘Congresswoman, are you going to the inauguration?’ Let me make myself clear: I don’t celebrate rapists, so no, I’m not going to the inauguration room,” she said, appearing visibly frustrated.

Her remarks quickly drew attention online, including from the Libs of TikTok account, which reposted her comments and suggested Trump should consider legal action in response to her characterization of him. Ocasio-Cortez responded on X with a pointed remark:
“Oh, are you triggered? Cry more,” she wrote.