Stuart Varney: Oil crash threatens US position as global energy leader

Fox Business host Stuart Varney reacts to the crash in oil prices amid COVID-19 and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's deleted tweet cheering the plunge.

• In the past week, Ocasio-Cortez has condemned Ivanka Trump’s diplomatic efforts at the G20 in Osaka, Japan, and criticised Trump’s spending on his 4 July event on the National Mall.
• This is not a Youtube video. This is a virtual cat-call.
• Ocasio-Cortez interrupted to ask why Wells Fargo would consider lending money to a project criticized widely on environmental grounds. “Again, the reason that we were one of the 17 or 19 banks that financed that, was because our team reviewed the environmental impact,” Sloan said. “And we concluded it was a risk we were willing to take.”.

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Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the rising star in the Democratic party. The 30-year old self-proclaimed “Democratic Socialist” and former bartender is New York’s 14th Congressional District for 2020 and beyond. AOC, for short, is the third most popular US politician on Twitter after Barack Obama and President Trump.

Conservative commentator Ben Shapiro did not hold back Tuesday in his reaction to what he called Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's 'absolutely asinine' tweet after U.S. oil prices turned negative on Monday for the first time in history.

'The oil prices dumped in historic fashion ... so AOC immediately tweets out a couple of absolutely asinine things because she is a moron,' the 'Ben Shapiro Show' host said.

'I'm not gonna sugarcoat this,' Shapiro went on. 'Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez has the IQ of a Kumquat. Maybe a loquat on the upper end. She is just an idiot.'

'You absolutely love to see it,' Ocasio-Cortez's since-deleted tweet read in response to a post which stated: 'Oil prices now at ‘negative values.'”

'This along with record low interest rates means it's the right time for a worker-led, mass investment in green infrastructure to save our planet. *cough*,' she continued.

'I'm not sure why she's coughing,' Shapiro mocked in response. 'I hope that all is well with AOC's health, but to celebrate 'You'd actually love to see' the collapse of the oil industry that supports tens of thousands of American jobs? Really? That's good?' he asked.

Ocasio-Cortez has pushed to radically restructure the U.S. economy with what progressives call a “Green New Deal,” which could cost as much as $93 trillion, according to a study co-authored by the former director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.

'This is sort of like saying....you can walk into a supermarket and just pick up bags of chocolate...have you ever thought of a better time to buy kale?'

After receiving backlash for her initial tweet, the Democratic 'Squad' member attempted to clarify her remarks and promote her green energy initiative in a new tweet that prompted Shapiro to ask 'What the actual eff is she talking about?'

'Now is the time to create millions of good jobs building out the infrastructure and clean energy necessary to save our planet for future generations. For our economy, our planet, and our future, we need a #GreenNewDeal,' Ocasio-Cortez wrote.

'Fossil fuels are in long-term structural decline. This along w/ low interest rates means it‘s the right time to create millions of jobs transitioning to renewable and clean energy,' she added. 'A key opportunity.'

'What in the actual eff is she talking about? Shapiro responded. 'They're paying you to take oil and she's like, 'This is a great time to invest in windmills.'

'Was she dropped on her head as a small child? When the price of oil is zero, that is a horrible time to invest in windmills and green energy,' the fired up commentator went on.

'This is sort of like saying, 'Did you see there's a glut in the market of chocolate right now? The price is zero. you can walk into a supermarket and just pick up bags of chocolate. Have you ever thought of a better time to buy kale?'

Shapiro further questioned Ocasio-Cortez's logic, which he believes represents her 'confirmation bias' to push her progressive agendas as the country tries to navigate the economic impact of the coronavirus.

'What? Now's a great time to fill up your car, now's a horrible time to invest in expensive alternatives. Does she not understand...?'

Alexandria Ocasio Cortez For Congress

He concluded, 'Are you buying an energy-efficient vehicle for more money when the price of oil is zero? She's a full-scale idiot ... but again this is confirmation bias at work. She is just confirming her priors ... and it does make you suspicious that people are not being honest about broad-scale public policies.'

Alex Ocasio Cortez

Fox News' Talia Kaplan contributed to this report.