Manipulation!
That is what the Republicans count on.
Definitions:
Communism
noun
1
or Communism
a: a doctrine based on revolutionary Marxian socialism and Marxism-Leninism
Note: This doctrine was the official ideology of the Soviet Union.
b: a totalitarian system of government in which a single authoritarian party controls state-owned means of production
c: a final stage of society in Marxist theory in which the state has withered away and economic goods are distributed equitably
d: communist systems collectively
2
a: a system in which goods are owned in common and are available to all as needed
b: a theory advocating elimination of private property
Socialism
noun
1
a: any of various egalitarian economic and political theories or movements advocating collective or governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and distribution of goods
2
a: a system of society or of group living in which there is no private property
b: a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and controlled by the state
3
a: a stage of society in Marxist theory that is transitional between capitalism and communism (see communism sense 2c) and is distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according to work done
Do you see the difference?
Cronkite News.
by Hayli Griffin and Emma Whitney
July 14, 2026
A specter is haunting the country, according to President Donald Trump.
Decades after the Soviet Union collapsed, Trump is warning Americans that communism is rearing its head domestically, citing gains by self-described democratic socialists in Democratic Party strongholds.
“America will never be a communist country. Won’t happen,” Trump said in his Fourth of July speech on the National Mall, in one of the dozens of recent references he has made in recent weeks as he paints Democrats as radical in the run-up to the midterm elections.
“It’s like a cancer. You’ve got to cut it out. … Our warriors did not fight communism on battlefields across the world only to have that menace rear its ugly head right back here in America. We’re not going to let it happen,” he said.
In New York City, two democratic socialists, Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez, won congressional nominations in the June 23 Democratic primaries, as did candidates for seven downballot offices who were backed by the Democratic Socialists of America.
Do you know why he is doing this?
Because many people mix up, or don’t know, the difference between Socialism and Communism. The word “Communism” strikes fear in many people’s minds… “Duck and cover!” “The Evil Empire!” “The Cuban Missile Crisis!”
Political experts say Trump’s rhetoric may resonate with his supporters but he is stretching the term communist far beyond its true meaning.
“Communism” evokes images of bread lines, gulags and secret police like Stalin-era USSR, Mao-era China or Castro-era Cuba.
But I would say the label applies to Trump! Um… remember the photos of the raids by ICE and CBP, with agents dressed in paramilitary gear? Do you remember the photos of ICE agents dragging out a 70-year-old man in his underwear? I would think that Trump would want to keep those images out of the news when he is calling people “communist”!
The question is: What is this leading up to?
Trump seems to escalate things, so we have to wonder where he is leading us. Somehow, this all sounds nefarious… as if something evil is behind it.