President Donald Trump is drawing on the language and fears of the Cold War as he warns of a renewed “communist menace” in the United States. The rhetoric echoes the red scare of his childhood, but it remains unclear whether it will resonate beyond the Maga base.
Perhaps above all else, Trump is a child of the cold war. Three months before the US president was born, Winston Churchill delivered a speech that ushered in a generations-long existential struggle between western capitalism and Soviet communism.
Lamenting the spread of Soviet communism across eastern Europe following the allied victory in the second world war, Churchill – by then no longer British prime minister – warned his audience on 5 March 1946 that “an iron curtain has descended across the continent”.
It was the prelude to a nuclear-armed standoff between Washington and Moscow that triggered a hysteria-driven red scare in the US – leading to the execution of convicted spies and exemplified by witch-hunts instigated by the Republican senator Joseph McCarthy, who claimed he had obtained lists of communist agents working in the state department and other key areas of American life.
The hunt for communists would have been a ubiquitous theme of Trump’s early childhood.
Strikingly, Roy Cohn – McCarthy’s chief counsel, who had masterminded the federal prosecution of the convicted Soviet spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, subsequently executed for treason – became Trump’s mentor in later decades, as he rose in the New York real-estate world.
“For many years, communism and communists were the major enemy of the United States,” said Harvey Klehr, an emeritus professor at Emory University and an expert in the US’s history with communism.
“There were obviously times it might have gotten exaggerated or or got out of hand, but there was a darn good reason for people to be alarmed about it.”
Paranoia waned in relative terms after McCarthy was censured by the Senate in 1954, but only abated after the collapse of eastern European communist regimes in 1989 and the dissolution of the Soviet Union two years later.
Now, 37 years after the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the cold war, Trump is reviving it.
In a series of high-profile addresses, Trump has identified an ideology that millions of Americans are too young to recall as the US’s biggest threat.
“A generation after we fought and won the cold war against the menace of communism, there is now a resurgence of the communist menace in our land, including from newcomers to our country who embrace ideas totally opposed to our way of life and our great success,”
he said in a speech on 3 July, on the eve of the US’s 250th birthday.
He vowed to “vanquish communists quickly” and “send them into exile”.
That the topic was no one-off was confirmed by a new 100-page report from the state department published this week, titled for the Cuban regime.
“For nearly seven decades, the Cuban regime has waged a sustained campaign of subversion against the United States,” states the report, claiming that the “highest reaches” of the US government have been “infiltrated”.
“Today, that network continues to maintain ties to powerful leftist nonprofits, anti-ICE collectives, socialist groups, and Marxist militant organizations across the United States.”
The rebirth of anti-communist animus has been fueled by the recent success of Democratic candidates identifying as “democratic socialists” – most notably the New York mayor, Zohran Mamdani.
A succession of leftwing candidates endorsed by the DSA have followed Mamdani’s triumph by winning Democratic primaries, including Darializa Avila Chevalier, who ousted the veteran New York representative, Adriano Espaillat, in June.
Chevalier has drawn scrutiny over a now deleted post that praised Marxist ideology and historical communist figures, such as Vladimir Lenin.
Several high-profile Democrats and liberal-leaning figures have ridiculed Trump’s attacks for falsely conflating socialism – a term which can describe democratic governments in several European countries – with Soviet-style communism.
“Not subtle: new party line is to associate Communists with every crime, every offense,”
Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a historian of fascism, on X. “Create a sense of Communist threat to justify a rightwing crackdown. Old playbook used with coups and Fascist takeovers.”
Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Democratic representative for New York and a member of the DSA, called the communist label “very silly”.
“They want to call it communist because they don’t want you to know that Germany, Italy, the UK, Canada – everybody else – has it better than us, and we spend the most money for the worst care in the developed world,”
she said.
Cara Tobe, a spokesperson for the DSA – asked whether association’s membership included communists – said: “Our organization’s dues-paying members range in political beliefs, but we are all united under the banner of democratic socialism.
“It’s concerning but not surprising that would like to send his opponents into exile, because it’s increasingly evident our ideas win with the American people: socialism beats fascism.”
Yet some commentators say Trump’s charge is not baseless.
“The communist issue is not entirely a bugaboo,” said Klehr, who said the DSA had a “very significant communist component”.
Formed by Michael Harrington, the leftwing activist and writer, in 1982, the DSA was founded under a constitution that excluded members of “democratic centralists” organizations – code for Soviet-style communist parties founded on Lenin’s model.
Klehr said that provision had been repealed – resulting in an influx of radical new members that he compared to the “entryist” infiltration of Britain’s Labour party by the Trotskyite Militant tendency in the early 1980s, which resulted in the adoption of leftwing policies and led to an overwhelming election defeat at the hands of Margaret Thatcher’s Conservatives. The faction was expelled in 1985 by Labour’s then leader, Neil Kinnock.
“The DSA has changed, and a significant number of people who unapologetically call themselves Marxist-Leninists or communists have moved into DSA and attained some significant positions,” said Klehr.
Bill Galston, a fellow at the Brookings Institution and a former White House domestic policy adviser under Bill Clinton, said: “There are people who’ve been in the DSA for decades and can remember the struggle between the democratic and the undemocratic left, and in particular between communists and socialists, and so they are definite.
“They are responding to the perception that there are various communist or communist-adjacent factions that have joined the DSA, and that they don’t want to be part of that.”
Two articles in the Atlantic have highlighted the fierce debate over the credentials of DSA candidates and their potential to be catalysts for a broader political shift.
However, Galston – a self-proclaimed socialist whose grandfather stood multiple times as a communist candidate in New York – questioned the ability of Trump’s “communist” tag to resonate beyond his Maga base.
He cited a recent poll asking voters how much of a threat communism posed to the US. Some 18% termed it a “major threat” and another 25% a “minor threat”, while 33% said it was “not a threat”.
“Trump is 80 years old, and for him, the epithet ‘communist’ rolls off his lips quite naturally, because it was part of the conflict with internal communism and the Soviet Union as an external communist foe that was part of his formation,” said Galston.
“Older Americans, those who do have a memory of the cold war, are more responsive to this alleged threat than are younger Americans. He’s speaking to a political party that is disproportionately supported by older Americans.
“So one way of looking at this is as part of Trump’s overall strategy of base mobilization. He’s preaching to the choir here and he know intuitively who makes up that choir.”
Galston also attributed the resurgence of fears of communism to an age-old popular American failure to make fine distinctions in political terminology – a confusion Trump’s critics say applies to him.
But Klehr argued that the trend signaled a broader threat to democracy and liberal values that he said emanated from the extreme left and far right.
“Donald Trump wouldn’t know a communist from a democratic socialist from a Martian, but there are other very smart people that do understand the difference, and the significance,” he said.
“It’s the same sort of thing that occurred on the political right not that many years ago, when various kinds of rightwing lunatics, neo-Nazis and racists began to move into the Republican party, they won some primaries, they established a beachhead and they’re still there.
“I think some of that is happening in the Democratic party, and it’s dangerous on both counts. It raises serious concerns for the health of a democratic society.
“The memory of communism is fading, and yet … some of the things they call for, it’s like they’ve forgotten the history.”
How is Trump framing the threat?
Trump is presenting communism as a renewed danger inside the United States and linking it to newcomers who, he says, embrace ideas opposed to American values and success. His remarks on 3 July, delivered on the eve of the US’s 250th birthday, included a vow to “vanquish communists quickly” and “send them into exile”.
Why does the rhetoric echo the Cold War?
The language recalls the Cold War-era red scare that shaped Trump’s early environment. The article traces that lineage through Churchill’s “iron curtain” warning on 5 March 1946, the later nuclear standoff between Washington and Moscow, and the anti-communist paranoia associated with McCarthyism and the execution of convicted spies, including Julius and Ethel Rosenberg.
What role does the DSA play in the debate?
The Democratic Socialists of America has become a focal point in the argument because of the success of candidates identifying as democratic socialists, including New York mayor Zohran Mamdani. The article says a succession of DSA-endorsed candidates have won Democratic primaries, including Darializa Avila Chevalier, who defeated veteran New York representative Adriano Espaillat in June.
Chevalier faced scrutiny over a now deleted post that praised Marxist ideology and communist figures such as Vladimir Lenin. Critics of Trump argue he is falsely conflating socialism, which can describe democratic systems in several European countries, with Soviet-style communism.
Are Trump’s warnings convincing to all observers?
No. Several Democrats and liberal-leaning figures dismissed the attacks, with Ruth Ben-Ghiat warning on X that associating communists with crime is an old tactic used to justify rightwing crackdowns. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called the label “very silly” and argued that other countries, including Germany, Italy, the UK and Canada, provide better care than the US despite lower costs.
DSA spokesperson Cara Tobe said the group’s dues-paying members hold a range of political beliefs but are united under democratic socialism. Tobe also said it is concerning but not surprising that Trump would want to send opponents into exile, adding that socialism beats fascism.
Is there any basis for Trump’s claim?
Some commentators say there is at least a partial basis for the claim. Harvey Klehr said the communist issue is not entirely a bugaboo and argued that the DSA has a “very significant communist component”.
Klehr said the DSA was formed in 1982 by Michael Harrington and originally excluded members of “democratic centralists” organizations, a reference to Soviet-style communist parties based on Lenin’s model. He said that rule was later repealed, opening the door to radical members he compared with the Trotskyite Militant tendency’s entryist influence in Britain’s Labour party in the early 1980s, a period that ended with Labour’s heavy defeat to Margaret Thatcher’s Conservatives and the faction’s expulsion in 1985 under Neil Kinnock.
According to Klehr, “The DSA has changed, and a significant number of people who unapologetically call themselves Marxist-Leninists or communists have moved into DSA and attained some significant positions,” said Klehr.
Bill Galston of the Brookings Institution, who served as a White House domestic policy adviser under Bill Clinton, said long-time DSA members remember the historic split between democratic and undemocratic left politics, especially between communists and socialists, and are reacting to communist or communist-adjacent factions they believe have joined the organization.
Two articles in the Atlantic have also examined the sharp debate over the credentials of DSA candidates and whether they could become catalysts for broader political change.
Will the language reach beyond Maga voters?
Galston doubts it will. He cited a recent poll showing that 18% of respondents saw communism as a “major threat”, 25% as a “minor threat” and 33% said it was “not a threat”.
He said Trump, now 80, naturally uses the word “communist” because it was embedded in the political conflict of his formative years, when internal communism and the Soviet Union were seen as twin threats. Older Americans with living memory of the Cold War are more receptive to that framing than younger voters, and Trump is speaking to a Republican party disproportionately supported by older Americans.
“So one way of looking at this is as part of Trump’s overall strategy of base mobilization. He’s preaching to the choir here and he know intuitively who makes up that choir.”
Galston also suggested the revived fear reflects an American tendency to blur distinctions in political language, something Trump’s critics say he himself does.
What broader warning do observers see?
Klehr said the issue points to a wider threat to democracy and liberal values from both the extreme left and far right. He argued that Trump lacks the nuance to distinguish between communists and democratic socialists, but that others understand the difference and its significance.
He compared the current moment to the way rightwing extremists, neo-Nazis and racists moved into the Republican party years ago, won primaries and established a beachhead that remains. In his view, something similar is happening in the Democratic party and is dangerous on both sides.
“It raises serious concerns for the health of a democratic society,” he said.
He also said the fading memory of communism leaves room for misunderstanding: “The memory of communism is fading, and yet … some of the things they call for, it’s like they’ve forgotten the history.”
Key Facts
- Trump warned on 3 July that there was a “resurgence of the communist menace” in the US.
- He vowed to “vanquish communists quickly” and “send them into exile”.
- The State Department published a 100-page report this week on Cuba and claims of infiltration.
- Polling cited in the article found 18% saw communism as a “major threat”, 25% as a “minor threat” and 33% as “not a threat”.
- Names mentioned include Winston Churchill, Joseph McCarthy, Roy Cohn, Zohran Mamdani, Darializa Avila Chevalier, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ruth Ben-Ghiat, Harvey Klehr and Bill Galston.
