Ocasio-Cortez tries to politicize Christmas and faces a furious social media backlash

Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) got a furious backlash from many on social media when she tried a familiar tactic to politicize the Christmas season.

The Socialist Democrat claimed that Jesus, Mary and Joseph were refugees in the same way that many from Latin America and other regions were refugees seeking asylum in the United States.

"Joy to the World!" she tweeted on Christmas. "Merry Christmas everyone - here's to a holiday filled with happiness, family, and love for all people."

"Including refugee babies in mangers + their parents," she added in a pointed parenthetical.

The issue of asylum has been a hotly debated one since President Donald Trump began placing restrictions on how asylum is decided, especially after numerous migrant caravans headed to the U.S. border from Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, and other nations struggling with violence.

However, many on social media objected strenuously to her comparison of modern day refugees to that of the Biblical account of the escape of Jesus, Mary and Joseph from Herod, the king of Judea.

"Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez... in #Christmas tweet mistakenly called #Jesus in the manger a refugee," responded Father Frank Pavone, the Director of Priests for Life. "But if she meant his family fleeing from murderous threats of Herod, that is more akin to the #Democrats' pushing for #abortion than to anything @realDonaldTrump does."

Mary and Joseph weren't refugees, moron," said Derek Hunter of the Daily Caller. "They were on their way to pay their taxes, as mandated by Rome. You're now Rome, by the way."

In a second tweet, Ocasio-Cortez posted an image superimposing religious halos on the heads of an immigrant family.

"True love is radical because it requires us to see ourselves in all people," she tweeted. "Otherwise, it isn't love."

"Love is revolutionary because it has us treat ALL people as we would ourselves," she added, "not because we are charitable, but because we are one."

Many others objected to her characterization while some on the left praised her for using the religious holiday in order to advocate for the Democratic political agenda.