A provocative new column at American Thinker is making the case that the distinction many left-wing politicians draw between “democratic socialism” and communism is essentially a lie — that the two are, in the author’s words, “merely slightly different shades of the same evil ideology.”
Writing on September 2, 2026, conservative commentator and retired police officer Mike McDaniel argues that “democratic socialists” who insist they are different from Communists are being disingenuous. He says democracy and a constitutional republic are fundamentally incompatible with both socialism and communism, which he characterizes as “Socialism is Communism lite” — bringing the same economic damage and societal collapse, just with less overt violence.
McDaniel’s piece leans heavily on statements from prominent Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) figures to argue the movement’s ultimate goal is communist revolution, not reform within democratic institutions.
Trump, Vance, and Johnson Weigh In
The column cites a series of recent Republican comments that echo McDaniel’s thesis. According to the piece, President Donald Trump said on June 26 that Democratic Socialists are “not social Democrats” but rather “hardcore, godless Communists.” Vice President JD Vance is quoted similarly expressing fear that “the direction the Democrats are headed” is “communism.”
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is also quoted responding to the DSA’s platform on July 26 with the warning that “Communism is no longer a far-fetched threat. It is here on our SHORES!”
Mamdani’s Own Words
Perhaps the most striking material in the column comes from New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a self-described democratic socialist who took office in January. McDaniel quotes Mamdani’s inaugural address on Jan. 1, in which the mayor said, “I was elected as a democratic socialist, and I will govern as a democratic socialist.”
But it’s Mamdani’s earlier statements that McDaniel seizes on. The column cites a 2021 DSA Zoom call in which Mamdani reportedly said the “end goal” should be “seizing the means of production.” He also reportedly said, “The abolition of private property … is preferable to what is going on right now.” McDaniel points out these comments closely echo language from Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels’ “Communist Manifesto.”
McDaniel also highlights Mamdani’s connection to Cea Weaver, a DSA member who the column describes as New York City’s “tenant tsarina” working in the mayor’s orbit. Weaver reportedly posted on X in December 2017, “Elect more communists,” and in 2018 demanded, “Seize private property.”
The DSA Platform as Evidence
The column reproduces a long list of planks from the DSA’s platform, arguing they demonstrate the organization’s radical aims. These include a 32-hour work week with full pay, canceling all student debt, free universal healthcare, publicly owned social housing with universal rent control, defunding and abolishing police and prisons, ending all foreign wars and closing overseas military bases, and granting amnesty to all immigrants regardless of status.
The platform also calls for abolishing the Electoral College and replacing the President and Supreme Court with officials “chosen by and subordinate to Congress,” expanding the House, and abolishing the Senate entirely. It advocates for public ownership of the largest corporations, aggressive wealth taxes, D.C. statehood, and giving Green Card holders the vote.
McDaniel frames these positions — particularly the restructuring of American government — as evidence that the DSA is not interested in working within the existing constitutional system but in replacing it.
Celebrating Castro and Mao
The column also points to DSA actions and statements that McDaniel argues show sympathy for communist regimes. He notes that the DSA recently celebrated what would have been Cuban dictator Fidel Castro’s 100th birthday, posting on Aug. 13: “DSA Commemorates 100 Years of Fidel.” The organization reportedly called Castro “an organizer, a fighter,” and said he “endures as a stalwart symbol of anti-imperialist struggle.”
McDaniel also highlights DSA-affiliated streamer Hasan Piker, who the column says believes the fall of the Soviet Union was “a great catastrophe” and considers Mao Zedong “one of the world’s great leaders” — a view that requires dismissing Mao’s role in historical atrocities, McDaniel argues. He further alleges Piker has said America “deserved 9-11.”
Quotes from DSA Leadership
The column closes its argument with what it presents as remarkably candid statements from DSA National Political Committee members. David Jenkins is quoted as saying in 2023, “Our goal is Communism.” Amy Wilhelm is quoted saying, “Our role ultimately is to facilitate our own empire’s failure.” Frances Gill reportedly said, “We have a unique responsibility to act from the heart of empire, the belly of the beast,” and that “the most important thing that we can do is take that empire down from within.” Hazel Williams is quoted as saying, “U.S. imperialism is not a thing that can be reformed away. It has to be overthrown through revolutionary struggle.”
McDaniel asserts that while Democratic Socialists might not immediately “kill you” the way he says full communists will, they will “cancel you, deprive you of your career and of all choices about your life,” redistribute your money, and “bankrupt you.” He warns that once they gain sufficient control of government, they go “full Communist.”
A Call to Defend the Constitution
McDaniel, a U.S. Air Force veteran and former police officer who also taught English at high school and college levels, ends his piece with a grim warning. “We’d better ensure the Constitution isn’t a suicide pact,” he writes, suggesting that the American political system needs stronger defenses against what he sees as a growing radical movement within the Democratic Party’s left wing.
The column is clearly written as advocacy and opinion, not neutral reporting. Critics will note that McDaniel’s characterization of the DSA as a communist organization is itself a subject of intense political debate — the DSA and figures like Mamdani have consistently described themselves as working within democratic processes to achieve social democratic goals, and have repeatedly disavowed the violence and authoritarianism associated with 20th-century communist regimes.
But McDaniel’s compilation of quotes and platform positions does provide a window into why many conservative leaders have increasingly sounded alarms about the left’s influence on American politics, framing the 2026 election season as a choice between constitutional governance and revolutionary change.
As the debate over socialism’s place in American politics continues to intensify, it’s a safe bet that both sides will be quoting from this growing body of statements — from Mamdani’s Zoom calls, DSA platform language, and Republican leaders’ increasingly stark warnings — in the months ahead.
Source: www.americanthinker.com — https://www.americanthinker.com/blog/2026/09/yes-socialists-really-are-communists/