DSA Primary Wins Trigger 'Communist' Attacks from Trump, Centrist Democrat Countermove

Since DSA-aligned candidates posted primary victories in New York's 7th and 13th congressional districts in late June, the Democratic Party's internal fracture has moved from simmering to visible.

What Happened in the Primaries

Assemblywoman Claire Valdez won New York's 7th district, and community organizer Darializa Avila Chevalier won New York's 13th district. Both were endorsed by Mayor Mamdani and both are members of the Democratic Socialists of America. Progressive Brad Lander, not a DSA member but also backed by Mamdani, won the Democratic primary for New York's 10th district. Earlier in June, DSA member Janeese Lewis George won the Democratic primary for D.C. mayor, according to Forbes.

Three DSA-linked wins in rapid succession have fueled the reaction since.

Trump's Response

President Trump has deployed the word "communist" as a midterm weapon since the results came in. Speaking at the Faith & Freedom Coalition's 2026 policy conference on June 26, Trump called DSA candidates "animals" and "hardcore, godless communists," per Forbes. He warned of a "cancer that's permeating our country called communism" and claimed that if Democrats of this stripe gained power, "they will close your churches" and "kill your people."

On Truth Social, Trump called the primary victories "the most serious threat to our Country since its existence 250 years ago," according to Newsweek. He also offered a sarcastically self-deprecating riff: he could be "the greatest communist in history" if he handed out free rent and food. But "after two or three years, the country would fail. It always does."

Vice President JD Vance called the leftward shift "something we haven't seen in the U.S.," and House Speaker Mike Johnson labeled the winning candidates "self-described, self-identifying Marxists," according to The Washington Post.

Is "Communist" the Right Word?

The strongest objection to Trump's framing deserves a clear hearing. Democratic socialists in the DSA tradition are not Marxist-Leninist revolutionaries calling for the abolition of private property or one-party rule. They advocate universal healthcare, rent control, free public college, and aggressive wealth redistribution within democratic institutions and through elections. Mamdani won the New York City mayoral primary running on those issues and won decisively. DSA itself stated that their movement is growing "because working people are fed up with the high cost of rent and groceries and medical bills," per Newsweek. Voters pulled the lever for these candidates voluntarily.

That represents a legitimate political movement, not a Soviet plot.

But the distinction between democratic socialism and classical liberalism is also real and worth stating plainly. Policies like nationalization of industries, aggressive rent control, and universal government-provided services have track records in other countries that conservatives argue are cautionary tales. Conflating DSA with gulags is hyperbole. Ignoring what DSA's platform actually says is equally dishonest.

The Centrist Counterpunch

A group of 15 Democrats, including 10 House members and five House candidates, signed onto a new initiative called "Promise to America" this week, according to Newsweek. Co-led by Reps. Tom Suozzi and Don Davis, the only two Democrats who flipped Trump-won districts in 2024, the pledge vows to "reject" socialism, support strong borders, back capitalism, and fight "extremes on both left and right."

Suozzi told The New York Times the group is aiming for signatures from 20 Democratic candidates, 200 state and local officials, and 2,000 activists.

This is centrist Democrats publicly distancing themselves from the DSA wins before Republicans can successfully tie the whole party to them in November.

The Midterm Stakes

NPR reported this week that the string of DSA victories is "posing a challenge for Democrats as they look ahead to midterms and seek a path back to the majority in Congress." Newsweek noted that midterm forecasts have generally projected Democratic advantages, but that Trump's approval rating decline is the driving factor, not ideological enthusiasm for DSA candidates specifically.

Republicans will likely run the "communist" line in every competitive district and force moderate Democratic candidates to either embrace or publicly reject their party's socialist wing. The centrist "Promise to America" group is a direct attempt to pre-empt that squeeze.

Whether 15 signatures on a pledge is enough to reframe a national narrative remains genuinely open. The DSA candidates who won weren't in marginal districts. They won in safe blue territory. The real test comes in November, when Democrats running in competitive seats will face voters who may not share New York's political appetite for democratic socialism.