WATCH: AOC Humiliated After Stumbling All Over Basic Question: ‘This Is, Uh…’

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez sidestepped a direct answer Friday when pressed on whether the United States should defend Taiwan in the event of a Chinese invasion, stumbling through her response at the Munich Security Conference.

Asked by Bloomberg TV moderator Francine Lacqua about America’s commitment to Taiwan, the New York Democrat appeared hesitant.

“Um, you know, I think that this is such a, you know, I think that this is, this is of course a very longstanding policy of the United States,” Ocasio-Cortez said, struggling to complete her thought.

“What we are hoping for is that we want to make sure that we never get to that point,” she added.

She continued, “And we want to make sure that we are moving in all of our economic research and our global positions to avoid any such confrontation, and for that question to even arise.”

Beijing has long claimed sovereignty over Taiwan, despite the self-governing island maintaining its own military, currency and democratic government. In December, China conducted sweeping military drills around Taiwan, raising alarms that the communist regime could be laying groundwork for a potential invasion.

Chinese officials described the exercises as a “stern warning” after the Trump administration approved an $11 billion arms package for Taiwan.

For decades, U.S. policy toward Taiwan has been intentionally ambiguous, declining to explicitly guarantee military intervention while signaling strong support for the island’s defense.

Ocasio-Cortez’s remarks come as speculation builds about her political ambitions beyond the House. The 36-year-old progressive has been floated by some allies as a potential 2028 presidential contender.

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During the same forum in Munich, she also struggled when asked to identify the most significant foreign policy shift under President Trump.

“The single-biggest?” the congresswoman said, asking for clarification and laughing lightly.

She then broadened her answer to a discussion of shifting policy between administrations.

“Well, I think zooming out beyond just this presidential administration,” Ocasio-Cortez said. “I think that what we are seeing is, between President Trump’s first administration pulling out of long-standing international agreements; then you have President Biden, who is opting back into some of them, such as, for example, with the Paris Climate Accords, and then you have President Trump that’s elected again, I think what we are seeing now is this idea that US foreign policy is,  and some of our more basic and foundational values-based commitments seem to be enacted based on the partisanship of whoever is elected.”

She added that Trump has played “hokey-pokey” with “many of our commitments,” including foreign aid and the Paris agreement.

The exchange drew attention as world leaders gathered in Germany to discuss mounting security threats, including Russia’s war in Ukraine and rising tensions in the Indo-Pacific. While Ocasio-Cortez emphasized diplomacy and economic positioning to avoid conflict, she stopped short of stating whether U.S. forces should defend Taiwan if deterrence fails.

With China’s military pressure increasing and questions about American resolve front and center, the moment underscored the high stakes surrounding U.S. policy in the region.

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