Democratic socialism ‘is not communism’
Kaitlan Collins, CNN’s chief White House correspondent, pushed back on President Donald Trump’s rhetoric about the rise of democratic socialism in the United States, which Trump falsely associates with communism, following multiple victories by progressive House candidates in the New York primary.
On Friday’s “The Source with Kaitlan Collins,” the CNN anchor touted Trump’s remarks to the annual Faith and Freedom Coalition Conference earlier that day, in which he described democratic socialists as “hard-core Godless communists” and “the most serious threat to our country since its existence.”
Collins took issue with the president’s “border apocalypse” comments that America could become a communist nation.
“As Democrats grapple with what Tuesday night means for the direction of their party, socialism, or even democratic socialism, is not communism,” he said.
He’s referring to a string of Democratic primary victories in New York on Tuesday by democratic socialists backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (D).
Collins noted that Trump increasingly focused on the New York races, staying up until 2:30 a.m. on the night of the primary and posting about the race on social media.
He played another clip of Trump’s speech in which he claimed Americans would face a bleak future under the leadership of democratic socialists.
“You will live in misery. There will be no food. There will be no shelter. There will be no army. There will be no law and order,” he said. “You will either suffer or die.”
Collins questioned whether Republican leaders in Congress, including House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.), could direct Trump’s attention away from democratic socialists in New York and instead redirect it to the rest of the midterm elections.
Much of the week has been about issues like affordability, rather than issues like Sen. At a GOP luncheon earlier this week. He noted that he has been through clashes with Republicans over Iran, including a shouting match with Bill Cassidy (R-La.).
“The question tonight is: Can the Speaker and the President’s advisors convince the President that he should continue to focus on the midterm elections?” Here’s what Collins said:
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