Another high profile Star Trek fan is talking about how they have been inspired by the franchise. In this case it Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, one of the higher profile members of the US House of Representatives. Turns out she is a big Voyager fan and sees the vision of Trek being realized today.
AOC talks VOY at DNC
Rep. Ocasio Cortez was a guest on a special live edition of the The Late Show with Stephen Colbert on Thursday night from Chicago and the Democratic National Convention, appearing shortly after Vice President Kamala Harris officially accepted the nomination for President of the United States. Colbert talked about the historic moment quoting part of Harris’ acceptance speech about “a vision of America where we hold fast to the fearless belief that built our nation and inspired the world, that here anything is possible.” When he asked what the nomination meant to her, AOC looked back to her childhood and Star Trek:
“When I was at nine years old, I watched a lot of Star Trek with my dad. And we used to watch this series, it was Star Trek: Voyager. And the reason I bring this up is because this was the first ship with a female captain… Captain Janeway, by the great Kate Mulgrew. And I remember this was something that was very important growing up. And my dad felt it very important for me to watch this because he wanted me to see an example of a woman in leadership. And when I was a kid, the only example of that was in science fiction. And today represents a day where it has become our reality.”
You can watch the moment via YouTube below…
The moment did not go unnoticed by Kate Mulgrew. She responded to a clip of AOC on Colbert, thanking her and adding how she takes “great pride” in her legacy as Janeway, “especially inspiring the next generation.” She also added her wholehearted endorsement for Kamala Harris.
Thank you @AOC for the shout-out last night on @StephenAtHome @colbertlateshow. I take great pride in my legacy as Janeway, especially inspiring the next generation of leaders.
I wholeheartedly endorse @KamalaHarris & @Tim_Walz – time for another #BlueWave2024 🌊 #KamalaHarris https://t.co/Memo0XlPVJ
— Kate Mulgrew (@TheKateMulgrew) August 23, 2024
Ocasio-Cortez’ love for Voyager and Janeway has been well known. In fact Kate Mulgrew’s media director Amy Imhoff arranged for Mulgrew to surprise AOC at a campaign event when she was first elected to Congress back in 2018. You can see that below…
One of the 1st events I organized as @TheKateMulgrew‘s media director was surprising @AOC at her last rally before her election. Here is the video I took (Kate is sneakily seated behind AOC prior to her intro) – I am so proud & happy we pulled this off!#TheJanewayEffect 🖖🏻 #VOTE pic.twitter.com/EQlwH28d7c
— Amy Imhoff (@AmyImhoff1701) August 23, 2024
In a 2019 interview with TrekMovie, Mulgrew talked about meeting Ocasio-Cortez and expressed hope that Voyager inspired her:
“And look what she’s doing. I doubt that I had anything to do with that spirit, which is a remarkable one. But there is something about her confidence, the way she is scorching that indifferent earth that makes me think, “I wonder… I wonder if she plucked some of this from Voyager?” And I hope she did.”
