Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stops by strangers’ Animal Crossing islands

By Trevor Mogg Published April 25, 2023

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is providing a welcome distraction for millions of people stuck at home in these challenging times. Heck, even members of Congress are discovering its delights, with Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) on Thursday tweeting about her new-found interest in the popular social simulation game for the Nintendo Switch.

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The politician hit Twitter to broadcast her desire to visit random people’s islands “to leave a doodle or note” on their bulletin boards, even opening her DMs “for the first time since the Zuckerberg hearing” in October 2019 to receive some five-digit Dodo codes.

Hi there! Very new to this.

I would like to visit random people’s islands and leave a doodle or note on their bulletin board.

Can I do that? If so, how?

Should I open my DMs for the first time since the Zuckerberg hearing for the Dodo codes?? https://t.co/pQlm0ES1cM

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 7, 2020

With 6.8 million Twitter followers — most of whom are probably on Animal Crossing right this minute — this could have left AOC with a whole lot of codes to get through. So she left her DMs open for just four minutes.

Clearly having fun, the 30-year-old member of Congress soon posted an update about her first-ever island visit …

Update 2: first ever House call (get it?) in the books!

It was so sweet. Island belonged to a family of three. We exchanged fruit, took pictures, and I signed a bulletin note using my touch screen.

I was floored by how fast they typed and they taught me about the app. pic.twitter.com/KJsI6Gjh9p

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 7, 2020

Indeed, it was going so well that she opened up her DMs again, for another four minutes. “Drop me your Dodo code and a note and I may stop by!” the politician-turned-Animal-Crossing aficionado tweeted.

UPDATE 3: Okay! After a few visits earlier I am reopening for a few more #AOCHouseCalls.

DMs are opening again for 4 minutes, drop me your Dodo code and a note and I may stop by!

(Yes that is a hand drawn campaign shirt & no I haven’t sorted out exporting screenshots yet ) pic.twitter.com/K7Idxnj09W

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) May 8, 2020

Animal Crossing: New Horizons launched in March 2020 and sold an impressive 11 million copies in its first 11 days, giving it the best start of any Nintendo Switch game.

Contributing Editor

Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

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