President Donald Trump appears to be trying to revive the Cold War-era "Red Scare" with his newest line of attack against Democrats, but as one former RNC Chair wrote for MS NOW, his effort falls apart in the face of "history and common sense" — and his own administration's machinations.
In the face of his own withering popularity and Democratic momentum heading into the midterms, Trump has taken to slamming his opponents as "godless communists" in various speeches, most notably his America 250 address at Mt. Rushmore. This tactic appears driven by a recent trend of self-described Democratic Socialists finding strong success in Democratic primaries in places like New York City and Colorado.
"These are not mere political disagreements, like differences over taxes or regulations," Trump said. Communism is a mortal threat to American liberty. … The godless communist morality states that anything is justified to bring about inhuman visions. … They don’t want good, they don’t love God, and they don’t want God."
Writing in a piece for MS NOW Saturday, Michael Steele, who led the Republican National Committee from 2009 and 2011 and has emerged as an outspoken conservative Trump critic, argued that this sort of "Red Scare" rhetoric will not play well in the modern context, and dismissed the notion that modern socialists are anything like Cold War-era communists.
"Trump’s speech comes at a very different time than [Joseph] McCarthy’s, however," Steele wrote. "The West won the Cold War decades ago; the remaining communist countries, such as China and Vietnam, have mixed economies, and even Cuba has adopted some market reforms. The 'communists' Trump is attacking are democratic socialists who want to do things like expand Medicare and start city-run grocery stores in needy areas, not seize the means of production."
Steele further noted that, when the original Red Scare began, average incomes were much higher in the U.S. than they are now, meaning that Americans had reasons "to be optimistic about their economic futures and to see capitalism as a system worth protecting." Now, not so much.
"In fact, if anyone is trying to create a government-run economy, it’s not the democratic socialists; it’s Trump himself," Steele argued. "The president has imposed illegal tariffs and is now subsidizing farmers suffering under those tariffs to the tune of $44 billion by the end of this year. He spearheaded partial state ownership of private companies. As recently as this week, the administration even announced so-called 'Freedom Fuel' centers to offset uncertainty at the pump caused by Trump’s war with Iran, which he entered without congressional approval. All the while, Trump has not only insulated his own riches from the disastrous economic policies he’s implemented, but he’s multiplied them."
He added: "Even more sinister, the president has embraced the same authoritarian tactics associated with actual communist leaders. Since Day One of his second term, his administration has worked overtime to purge the federal workforce of anyone he suspects of disloyalty. His Homeland Security Department has detained people for writing op-eds and flooded cities with masked federal agents. His Justice Department has targeted perceived enemies with the full might of the U.S. criminal justice system."
