During a heated televised debate in September 2024, Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump accused Vice President Kamala Harris of being a “Marxist” in their first head-to-head encounter.
“She’s a Marxist. Everybody knows she’s a Marxist. Her father is a Marxist economics professor, and he taught her well,” Trump said, targeting his Democratic rival.
Throughout the debate, Trump repeatedly referred to Harris as “Comrade Kamala,” labelling her as a socialist, Marxist, and fascist, a frequent line of attack against the vice president during his campaign.
This is not the only time Trump made such an accusation.
Three months ago, speaking at a rally near Miami, Trump said: “I don’t think Kamala Harris’ California socialism is going to go down well with the people… We don’t like socialism. We want our freedom, right?”
Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel echoed a similar sentiment, accusing Biden and Harris of being controlled by “radical socialists and anarchists”.
Trump calling Kamala Harris a “radical socialist” is being viewed as a part of a strategy used by conservative politicians to make people worry.
Over the years, the word “socialism” has been used as a negative term to attack political rivals, even if they don’t really follow socialist beliefs. But why has the term “socialism” become a “go-to” label for conservative politicians when attacking their opponents?
To understand this, it’s important to explore the roots of Americans’ ongoing fear of geopolitical rivals.
Socialism, as an ideology, emerged in the 19th century as a response to the inequalities produced by capitalism during the Industrial Revolution. Thinkers like Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels advocated for a system where the working class would collectively own the means of production, rather than leaving it in the hands of a wealthy capitalist class.
It became a particularly negative term in the United States during the 20th century, especially during the Cold War. The USSR, a self-proclaimed socialist state, was the United States’ primary geopolitical rival. The USSR represented a form of ideology that many Americans saw as a direct threat to democracy, freedom, and capitalist economic systems.
Conservative politicians in the US have continued to use “socialism” as a tool to rally their base and attack their opponents because the word evokes fear, particularly among older generations, who associate it with government control, loss of individual freedoms, and economic stagnation as seen in historical examples like the USSR.
Building on this fear, Trump not only continues the tradition of using ‘socialism’ as a political weapon but further distorts its meaning for his own agenda.
He distorts the meaning of “socialism,” despite many successful socialist policies, such as universal healthcare in Scandinavian countries or social security programs in the US, that are based on principles of collective welfare. By doing so, he reduces complex ideologies into a simple narrative of ‘us vs them,’ a tactic designed to rally his base and demonise the opposition domestically aimed at the Democrats, and internationally towards China, the United States’ current major rival.
But while Trump criticises “socialism”, his potential policies under Project 2025 demonstrate a more authoritarian approach that contradicts his claims about freedom.
Project 2025, proposed by The Heritage Foundation, which is largely composed of former Trump advisers, aims to prepare for the potential return of Donald Trump Republican administration in 2025. Critics have drawn parallels between Project 2025 and authoritarian characteristics, including the centralisation of power which weakens the independence of agencies such as the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Control of Media which limits freedom of expression, and Civil Service Reclassification which allows the president to replace non-partisan professionals with political loyalists.
Photo: “Coldwar” by Anynobody, Creative Common
But late in the campaign a serious debate has exploded around him: whether or not he fits the label “fascist”. This discussion gives a different perspective to his strategies.
Many scholars agree that Fascism, is a mass political movement that emphasises extreme nationalism, militarism, and the supremacy of the nation over the individual. This model of government stands in contrast to liberal democracies that support individual rights, competitive elections, and political dissent.
Just a week ago, former President Donald Trump’s longest serving chief of staff John Kelly told the New York Times that Trump “falls into the general definition” of a fascist.
“He certainly falls into the general definition of fascist, for sure,” Kelly said. His revelation made an impact in a significant moment during the presidential campaign.
A political advisor and retired U.S. Marine Corps general Kelly was White House chief of staff for then President Trump from 2017 to 2019. Kelly had previously been Secretary of Homeland Security in the Trump administration and commander of United States Southern Command.
Kamala Harris, then joined the conversation during a CNN interview, where she said, “Yes, I do” when asked whether she thinks Trump is a fascist.
Yale University philosophy professor Jason Stanley and author of How Fascism Works, said Trump is targeting the same people Hitler did. “The word is required now to keep us out of the history books as being complicit in the rise of fascism,” he said during an interview with WNYC’s On The Media last week.
Trump’s ongoing attitude towards immigration points in this direction. In 2016 he claimed Mexican migrants were rapists, and promised to ban Muslims from the US. Now he has repeatedly promised that if reelected, he will launch “the largest deportation operation in the history of our country”.
Hitler shared similar anti-immigrant ideas in “Mein Kampf,” Stanley said.
Countries around the world are watching closely where America will land on November 5.
In a world where misinformation spreads quickly and political agenda seeks to divide, staying committed to seeking the truth is very important. Instead of accepting simple, one-sided narratives, it is important to question and explore different viewpoints. Trump’s manipulation of misinformation reveals the effectiveness of these tactics, but actively broadening our perspectives helps to navigate the complexities of today’s world. Especially beyond the USA.
