She's one of the very few people in congress who does not accept corporate or foreign donations. She's also hugely popular, especially among young people.

At the same time, Zohran is already delivering in NYC -- when 2028 comes around, he will likely be massively popular and AOC's association with him will give a ton of weight to the feasibility of a bold progressive vision to rebuild.

The corporate/ruling class is rightfully threatened by the possibility of an AOC presidential run -- whether you mean to or not, you're doing their work for them.

Sometimes people provide help to those they see as on the right side of a conflict, see Ukraine for example.