I have a feeling he held up hand quotes, and spoke this in an ironic or mocking tone, and expected it to come through in a print interview. From the context it seems like it’s not a focus in the story, it’s just another option. There’s nothing wrong with that, it just sounds like he’s just bad with interviews.

The word has been absurdly corrupted by right wing though. It was just slang for being aware of the world, and promoting equality, and now it’s used for social justice enforcer.