Former Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt didn’t hold back after New York City’s socialist mayor, Zohran Mamdani, trashed the United States during what was supposed to be a celebration honoring the nation’s 250th anniversary.
Taking to X, the fiery Republican launched a blistering counterattack against Mamdani, torching the leftist&#8217;s bleak depiction of the country and labeling him an anti-human Marxist bent on destroying American culture.
The fireworks erupted after Mamdani delivered a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mamdani-paints-sinister-picture-of-america-in-speech-honoring-250th-anniversary?author=Hank+Berrien&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=3&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Mamdani+Paints+Sinister+Picture+Of+America+In+Speech+Honoring+250th+Anniversary">deeply cynical address</a> on July 3. Instead of honoring the land of the free, the Big Apple’s Left-wing leader painted a dark, sinister portrait of America. Mamdani claimed the nation was fundamentally built on exploitation, bigotry, and prejudice, describing it as an &#8220;arena of supremacy&#8221; where wealthy oligarchs buy elections and corporate landlords abuse tenants.
In a radical rhetorical tirade, the socialist mayor went as far as slamming federal immigration enforcement, accusing ICE agents of terrorizing local neighborhoods and kidnapping undocumented immigrants in unmarked vans. Mamdani concluded his grim speech by redefining patriotism as nothing more than anti-government street protests and righteous dissent.
Pratt wasn&#8217;t having any of it. The former GOP candidate fiercely defended the country while ripping into Mamdani&#8217;s Marxist worldview. He started by warning of the Left’s obsession with rewriting history.
&#8220;We all had to sit and watch that vile commie mayor sit on the wrong side of our Founding Fathers&#8217; desk to try and lecture us about our own history,&#8221; Pratt said. &#8220;Notice how the communist always attacks your history. The communist must attack your history. Why? Because history is what anchors you.&#8221;
Pratt likened the nation to a family home, explaining that even the painful or messy historical memories anchor people to their roots and foster an unbreakable bond that true patriots will fight to protect:
&#8220;What makes your home special? It&#8217;s not the marble countertops or the expensive furniture or the fancy appliances,&#8221; he continued. &#8220;It&#8217;s the memories you have there. &#8216;That backyard is where we got married; that living room rug is where our son took his first step. Hey, don’t touch that; that was his first teddy bear.&#8217; It doesn’t matter how torn and tattered that thing is; you will never get rid of it. And you will fight anyone who tries to take it away.
He then outlined how the Left proceeds: &#8220;That&#8217;s what the communist always starts with: the bad memories. &#8216;Oh, we can get rid of that little story. We can knock down that statue. We can change the name of that street. That&#8217;s a bad memory from our history. You don&#8217;t want that memory hanging around. You&#8217;re not a   bigot, right?&#8217; And slowly but surely, this wall comes down. Then that wall gets sledgehammered.
Invoking Chairman Mao’s infamous destruction of traditional culture, Pratt declared that communism is an evil, anti-human religion that thrives on total demoralization. He passionately argued that loving America is a vital necessity, noting that the United States has consistently served as the world’s ultimate shield against global tyranny and madness. Pratt pointed out that American ingenuity has served as the cradle for world-changing innovations like airplanes, the internet, and space travel.
Turning his sights directly on the New York executive, Pratt concluded: &#8220;Commie Mamdani’s ancestors never bled for this country. He has no history here, so he has no attachment to our home. He has no place to rewrite our history and lecture us about what our country stands for. So celebrate today. Show some American pride. Honor your  history. Raise your flag. Raise a finger and say, &#8216;F*ck you, communists. This is our home and you can&#8217;t have it. Today we celebrate our Independence Day.&#8217;”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
God Bless America <a href="https://t.co/RNwbNIGhCs">pic.twitter.com/RNwbNIGhCs</a>
— Spencer Pratt (@spencerpratt) <a href="https://x.com/spencerpratt/status/2073538263554416676?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 4, 2026</a></blockquote>
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MixCollage-06-Jul-2026-02-24-PM-8185

Spencer Pratt Slams ‘Vile Commie’ Mamdani Over Cynical Anti-America Speech

Communism

Spencer Pratt

Zohran Mamdani

President Donald Trump said on Monday that newly launched Trump Accounts could be the remedy to a growing infatuation with communist ideals in America because they will teach children to have an &#8220;entrepreneurial&#8221; spirit.
Trump made the argument during an Oval Office event focused on the rollout of Trump Accounts, which funds qualifying investment accounts for American children with $1,000 from the Treasury. Trump Accounts officially launched on the Fourth of July.
“I think we’ve done a lot of great things but I think this will be one of the top. It’s going to teach children to be entrepreneurial as opposed to the threat of communism that you&#8217;re seeing. This is not social Democrats, by the way. They&#8217;re not social Democrats. They&#8217;re communists. They want to destroy our country — we&#8217;re not going to let that happen,” he said. 
He explained the accounts won’t only help the future generation, but also their parents. “But this helps even from the parent standpoint. They see their child getting richer and richer as the market goes up. &#8230; The parents are going to be watching, we are all going to be watching. We are part of a very big and very beautiful game. It’s going to bring them into the mainstream.&#8221;
A new poll from the Cato Institute revealed 53% of Gen Z, ages 18 to 29, have a favorable view of socialism, and 38% have a favorable view of communism. Forty percent of Millennials, ages 30 to 44, have a favorable view of socialism, and 29% have a favorable view of communism. 
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-1129025" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-06-at-12.24.28-PM.png" alt="" width="1496" height="1000" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-06-at-12.24.28-PM.png 1496w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-06-at-12.24.28-PM-300x201.png 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-06-at-12.24.28-PM-862x576.png 862w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-06-at-12.24.28-PM-768x513.png 768w" sizes=" (max-width: 1496px) 100vw, 1496px" /></div>
&nbsp;
Trump Accounts bring those who are on the sidelines into the market by giving them a piece of ownership in equities. In America today, the top 1% of wealthiest Americans own about 50% of all equities while the bottom half of Americans own about 1% of U.S. equities. 
Through compound investing, this ownership gap only increases the wealth gap as those without ownership miss out on one of the primary drivers of long-term wealth creation. This dynamic can fuel support for socialist and communist ideals as asset owners are often better protected from inflation through appreciating investments, while those without assets only see their wages struggle to keep pace with rising prices.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also believes Trump Accounts directly combat young people&#8217;s growing fascination with socialism.
“Trump Accounts represent the triumph of capitalism over socialism. Through Trump Accounts, our president is creating an ownership economy where all citizens become shareholders in America’s wealth,&#8221; said Bessent. 
Based on White House estimates, a child born in 2026 may accumulate roughly $5,800 in the account by age 18 without any additional deposits. If parents and employers consistently contribute the $5,000 annual maximum contribution, the total could rise to approximately $303,800 over that same period. 
The $1,000 seed investment from the Treasury Department will be allocated across a broad mix of low-cost index funds, balancing growth potential with risk management. The seed investment was funded through Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill” with the opportunity to expand eligibility for children born after 2029. 
While children born between 2025 and 2028 are the only ones available for the $1,000 deposit from the federal government, parents can still set up Trump Accounts for older children. Philanthropists are also using the investment vehicles to donate money directly to a cause. On Monday, President and COO of SpaceX Gwynne Shotwell <a href="https://x.com/Gwynne_Shotwell/status/2074064376810614926">gifted</a> two million children ages 11-17 who live in areas with lower average household incomes a share of her SpaceX stock.

TOPSHOT-US-POLITICS-TRUMP

Why The President Believes Trump Accounts Will Push Back On The Communist Threat

Democrats

Donald Trump

Socialism

Trump Accounts

President Donald Trump made it clear in his Saturday remarks that he was all in on America as he touted American veterans and trashed communism on the nation&#8217;s 250th birthday.
Hailing the United States as &#8220;the hope, the promise, the light, and the glory among all of the nations of the world,&#8221; Trump called on Americans to be proud of their rich heritage and to defend that vision in the years to come.
Trump spoke late on Saturday night to a massive crowd after thunderstorms forced a delay, saying that the United States had always been — and would always be — the shining example of freedom that others looked to: &#8220;They try and be like us. Nobody can be like us&#8221; &#8230; &#8220;with God&#8217;s help, we can always be this or even better.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.<a href="https://x.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>: &#8220;For 250 years, the United States of America has been the hope, the promise, the light, and the glory among all of the nations of the world&#8230; with God&#8217;s help, we can always be this or even better&#8230; Here on our National Mall, we&#8217;re celebrating Freedom&#8217;s triumph over… <a href="https://t.co/XbJbC7A9l4">pic.twitter.com/XbJbC7A9l4</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2073609692304097395?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Trump proceeded to honor the veterans who served the country over the past 250 years, showing a number of different American flags that flew over different battles throughout the nation&#8217;s history.
He went on to blast communism and those who are trying to bring it to the United States, declaring that the U.S. will never be a communist country.
&#8220;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. All these talks from the communists, they haven’t got a chance &#8230; We don’t want communists in our country. Never worked, and it never will work.&#8221;
&#8220;We like to stop a threat like that immediately,&#8221; he argued, adding that communism was &#8220;like a cancer. You got to cut it out, you got to cut it out fast.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.<a href="https://x.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> recognizes Korean War veterans Cpl. Patrick Finn, and PFC Rudy Meekins, who fought bravely at the Chosin Reservoir while greatly outnumbered by Communist forces.
&#8220;America will NEVER be a Communist country.&#8221; 🇺🇸 <a href="https://t.co/zpZCqvrW7V">pic.twitter.com/zpZCqvrW7V</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2073618602901541200?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2026</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;We have thrived and flourished because our founders were great, our cause was just, our people are brave, our culture is exceptional, and our destiny is written by God. After 250 years, the Spirit of 1776 still lives within us all,&#8221; he concluded.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.<a href="https://x.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>: The world has seen the great empires, vast kingdoms, mighty nations, and terrible tyrants — they came and they went. But after two-and-a-half centuries, this American Republic still stands tall and strong.
This American Flag still waves proud and free and beautiful.
We… <a href="https://t.co/zeSLBND26D">pic.twitter.com/zeSLBND26D</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://x.com/RapidResponse47/status/2073621091998683250?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 5, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Trump Seeks To Put Himself Center Stage For US Independence Day

Trump Goes All In On America In 250th Birthday Speech: ‘Our Destiny Is Written By God!’

Trump Goes All In On America In 250th Birthday Speech: 'Our Destiny Is Written By God!'

America 250

Fourth of July

Far-Left New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani told New York City residents and business owners to take on the heat wave in the name of collectivism, urging them to keep their thermostats set to a toasty 78 degrees.
&#8220;New York: it&#8217;s hot out there, and the power grid is working overtime to keep us cool. Set your AC to 78 degrees, turn off lights/electronics you&#8217;re not using, and unplug what you can,&#8221; Mamdani told residents.
The high temp on Wednesday was 91 degrees, which can feel even hotter in the city. Temperatures are expected to hit around 100 degrees for the rest of the week.
&#8220;Our City is doing its part too: maintaining the 78 degrees rule in our buildings, dimming/turning off our lights during peak electricity demand, asking private partners to do the same, and powering down non-essential equipment,&#8221; the mayor added. &#8220;A stable grid means the AC stays on, and lives are saved. Let&#8217;s ease demand — and get through the heat — together.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
New York: it&#8217;s hot out there, and the power grid is working overtime to keep us cool.
Set your AC to 78 degrees, turn off lights/electronics you&#8217;re not using, and unplug what you can.
Our City is doing its part too: maintaining the 78 degrees rule in our buildings,…
— Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani (@NYCMayor) <a href="https://x.com/NYCMayor/status/2072411003170472359?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 1, 2026</a></blockquote>
He also instructed business owners to keep the thermostat at 78 degrees.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Mayor Mamdani: &#8220;Set you thermostats to 78 degrees to alleviate the stress on our grid&#8221;
The warmth of collectivism <a href="https://t.co/VQjrvBPVqY">pic.twitter.com/VQjrvBPVqY</a>
— End Wokeness (@EndWokeness) <a href="https://x.com/EndWokeness/status/2072447850298880333?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 1, 2026</a></blockquote>
Mamdani, who has spoken about the &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-warmth-of-collectivism-a-month-into-mamdani-nyc-is-covered-in-massive-piles-of-trash">warmth of collectivism</a>&#8221; and embraces <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mamdanis-coldest-rent-control-gimmick-yet">socialist policies</a>, was quickly roasted online for the request to residents.
Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis <a href="https://x.com/RonDeSantis/status/2072456275019927883?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">joked</a>, &#8220;Is this what was meant by the warmth of collectivism?&#8221;
Former Los Angeles mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt <a href="https://x.com/spencerpratt/status/2072455711288959261?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">asked</a> Mamdani, whom he referred to as a &#8220;commie,&#8221; to show his thermostat. He added in a follow-up tweet, &#8220;Communism always goes the same way. They smile &amp; promise you the world. Free this, free that, abundance for all! How? Don&#8217;t ask!&#8221; Pratt wrote. &#8220;Then they get into power, and the rationing begins. First a smiley ask. Then a demand. Then a bullet. &#8216;You used too much energy, comrade.&#8221;
&#8220;I have texted all my coworkers who voted for Zohran to send me a photo of their A/C set to 78,&#8221; Barstool&#8217;s Jack McGuire <a href="https://x.com/JackMac/status/2072437369270124663?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">said</a>.
&#8220;This is the stark scarcity of socialism,&#8221; New York Republican Rep. Elise Stefanik <a href="https://x.com/EliseStefanik/status/2072439834149523537?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">commented</a>. &#8220;New York is a state of extraordinary abundance in energy, power, and natural resources. Yet it is only because of the failed policies crushing our state’s energy independence that we have to settle for this Third World scarcity.&#8221;
&#8220;The Communists really mean it when they say &#8216;replace the frigidity of rugged individualism with the warmth of collectivism,'&#8221; she added. &#8220;AMERICA IS THE LAND OF THE FREE, THE HOME OF THE BRAVE, AND THE INVENTORS OF AC (in Brooklyn, no less)!!!!&#8221;
Barstool founder Dave Portnoy <a href="https://x.com/stoolpresidente/status/2072431020436083067?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">posted</a>, &#8220;78 degrees??? Welcome to communism people! Hope you enjoy!&#8221;
Related: <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/mamdanis-coldest-rent-control-gimmick-yet">Mamdani’s Coldest Rent Control Gimmick Yet</a>

GettyImages-2283268860

‘Welcome To Communism!’: Mamdani Roasted For Heat Wave Instructions For New Yorkers

‘Welcome To Communism!’: Mamdani Roasted For Heatwave Instructions For New Yorkers

Heat wave

New York City

The Democratic socialist darling poised to represent New York&#8217;s 13th Congressional District reportedly had a since-deleted Twitter account that read like communist fan fiction.
Darializa Avila Chevalier, according to a new report from CNN, kept a Twitter account under the name &#8220;Darializabonet.&#8221; The bio under the name in 2020 read, &#8220;how communist of you,&#8221; and the entire account was apparently deleted in 2022.
The contents of the now-deleted account included complaints about the lack of available Marxist literature — particularly works by revolutionaries like Vladimir Lenin — and a recommendation that Karl Marx&#8217;s &#8220;Capital&#8221; was a &#8220;must-read.&#8221; She also retweeted a post from another communist account complaining that bookstores did not feature &#8220;The Complete Works of J. V. Stalin&#8221; in displays about books that had been &#8220;banned.&#8221;
The account also quoted convicted cop killer and Black Liberation Army member Assata Shakur, who escaped from prison and fled to Cuba to avoid a life sentence, on the idea that people should read communist revolutionaries of color — &#8220;Ho Chi Minh, Kim Il Sung, Che, or Fidel [Castro]&#8221; — before Lenin or Marx. The revolutionaries could not be ignored, she said, because of their contributions to the cause — but she disliked elevating them above their non-white counterparts.
Other posts she either commented on or retweeted shared similarly favorable views of communism and socialism — including one retweet of a post complaining that Americans objected to communism over seemingly trivial things like the number of available soup varieties at a grocery store.
&#8220;I just cannot get over the fact that the universe has foisted upon us the perfect illustration of literally every failing of capitalism and people are still like we can’t be communists cuz there won’t be enough types of soup,&#8221; the post she retweeted read.
Avila Chevalier, backed by New York City&#8217;s new Democratic socialist Mayor Zohran Mamdani, defeated incumbent Democrat Adriano Espaillat to win the Democratic primary — and because she&#8217;s unlikely to face any real challenge from Republicans, Avila Chevalier&#8217;s victory in November is all but certain.
Comedian and HBO host <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/bill-maher-is-not-down-with-the-jew-hating-socialists-my-vote-is-in-play">Bill Maher</a> sounded the alarm on Avila Chevalier before additional details from the account came to light, saying during his Friday broadcast that she was &#8220;patient zero&#8221; if the &#8220;Woke Mind Virus&#8221; had such a thing.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Bill Maher on Democratic Socialist Daraliza Avila Chevalier:
“There is a woke mind virus and I think we found patient zero” <a href="https://t.co/YkaK2Mozqv">pic.twitter.com/YkaK2Mozqv</a>
— DSA Watch (@DSA_Watch) <a href="https://x.com/DSA_Watch/status/2071261107050934589?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 28, 2026</a></blockquote>
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&#8220;There’s one candidate, she will be a congresswoman from New York’s 13th District, who the New York Times asked her if someone murders someone randomly, should they go to jail? Couldn’t get her to say yes to that,&#8221; he said. &#8220;She says, ‘No more police ever, at all, ever.’ She says our veterans are war criminals. She said f*ck Kamala Harris and Joe Biden’s a rapist. So there is a Woke Mind Virus, and I think we found patient zero.&#8221;

NYC Mayor Mamdani Holds Get Out The Vote Rally Ahead Of Primary Election

Mamdani Darling Had Burner Account Flooded With Communist Fan Fiction

Darializa Avila Chevalier

Democratic Socialism

President Donald Trump took a shot at the far-Left wing of the Democratic Party on Thursday and sent a message to &#8220;communists&#8221; after radical candidates won multiple elections in New York earlier this week.
Trump suggested that he wasn&#8217;t surprised to see far-Left candidates, such as Claire Valdez, Darializa Avila Chevalier, and Brad Lander, win their primaries for the U.S. House. Valdez, Chevalier, and Lander are all backed by New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani — and Chevalier and Lander defeated Democratic incumbents.
&#8220;The Communists are finally making their move,&#8221; Trump wrote on <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/116813173401388945">Truth Social</a>. &#8220;I’ve been waiting and preparing for this for a long time. It’s easy to be a Communist — All you have to do is say, &#8216;I’ll give you everything,&#8217; but that means you’re taking it away from others that have earned it. Over thousands of years, that Ideology has not worked once. The game is on. Enjoy watching!&#8221;
While the New York radicals who won their primaries identify as &#8220;democratic socialists,&#8221; they have been accused of pushing ideas that are indistinguishable from communist talking points. Chevalier was even asked recently to respond to people describing her as a communist, and she refused to address it.
&#8220;You know, I think that framing is one that I&#8217;ve been very proud to say that I don&#8217;t respond to, one in which I have been very intentional to say I won&#8217;t be reactive,&#8221; Chevalier told MS NOW anchor Ali Velshi. &#8220;We are presenting a vision of what we&#8217;re fighting for, and I think that for far too long, we have had politics that is reactive to what Republicans are doing. What we need is Democrats who are actually going to present a positive vision, one that sets the tone for what we should be talking about, which is the issue of affordability.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-media-max-width="560">
Velshi: &#8220;How do you respond to allegations that you&#8217;re a communist?&#8221;
Darializa Avila Chevalier: &#8220;For far too long, this reactive conversation of what we should be afraid of has prevented us from being able to have a politics Democrats can identify win.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/sAKGmQcYju">pic.twitter.com/sAKGmQcYju</a>
— Greg Price (@greg_price11) <a href="https://x.com/greg_price11/status/2069995578100998577?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">June 25, 2026</a></blockquote>
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Along with calling for the government to seize private property, Chevalier has also <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/democrats-newest-pick-is-their-most-radical-yet">called</a> to abolish police and borders, disparaged the American flag, and refused to condemn Hamas’s October 7 terrorist attack on Israel.
Valdez and Lander have also pushed leftist economic views, such as rent freezes, a policy being actively pursued by Mayor Mamdani in NYC. Valdez, meanwhile, has called for abolishing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, expanding universal healthcare, increasing taxes on higher earners, and strengthening labor unions.
Shortly after New York democratic socialists won on Tuesday night, Trump said, “America the Beautiful will NEVER be a Communist Country!!!”

trump_Mamdani

Trump Declares ‘Game On’ As America’s Communists Make Their Move

Election

New York

Socialists

MamdaniPiker

New York Has Been Taken Over By The Communists. Your Town Might Be Next.

Democratic Party

Hasan Piker

Western Civilization

It&#8217;s 1917 all over again. Some communists weren&#8217;t communist enough, so the truly radical ones ate them alive. This time, it&#8217;s not the Bolsheviks destroying the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-most-terrifying-political-takeover-in-america-just-accelerated">Mensheviks</a>. It&#8217;s the socialists destroying the Democrats. And the organization leading the charge isn&#8217;t marching under a red flag; it&#8217;s marching under a donkey.
Meet the Democratic Socialists of America.
Their mission is to hollow out a country they are convinced is the root of all genocide, poverty, and malfeasance in the world, and replace it with <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/osama-won">third-worldist</a>, communist radicalism that leaves the United States in permanent ignominy.
Brutal, right?
To prevent that very bleak reality, we need to understand what the DSA is — and why it is the antithesis of America.
The <a href="https://www.dsausa.org/">DSA</a> is the largest explicitly socialist organization in the United States, with over 100,000 members and chapters across nearly all 50 states. They use young people, TikTok, and apathetic voters to propel obscure candidates to victory and make themselves look more mainstream than they are. They&#8217;re a radical, multi-tendency activist organization that runs carefully recruited candidates exclusively as Democrats, while simultaneously pushing campus radicalism, street organizing, and a platform of &#8220;democratic socialism.&#8221;
Which is a fancy new way of saying communism.
They want to replace capitalism with top-down government control over private property, housing, healthcare, energy, and more. <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DZ_cT_fSRc8/">Democrat policies aren&#8217;t radical enough for them</a>. The Democratic Party is simply the vehicle they&#8217;re using to Trojan Horse their revolution through.
We know this because their leaders are saying it openly.
NYC DSA co-chair Gustavo Gordillo recently <a href="https://x.com/NotTheirScript/status/2069913469009178762/video/1">boasted</a> that the group needs to &#8220;turn DSA into a factory,&#8221; and <a href="https://x.com/canarymission/status/2069522159311953929">admitted</a> their alliance with the Democratic Party is more for a ballot-access vehicle — not because they share its goals. Most of them, in fact, <a href="https://x.com/RNCResearch/status/2062561744766066794/video/1">detest the Democratic Party</a>. They compete in Democratic primaries, make their liberal opponents look like MAGA Cavemen by comparison, get elected with a &#8220;D&#8221; next to their name, and then treat the Democratic establishment as an obstacle to be discarded. Never a home. Always a beachhead.
It&#8217;s the classic &#8220;entryism&#8221; — or &#8220;dirty break&#8221; — strategy: infiltrate the larger party, use its infrastructure and ballot access to grow, then fracture from within. They aren&#8217;t hiding it.
It&#8217;s no wonder they <a href="https://x.com/thestustustudio/status/2069793307304038677/video/1">idolize</a> Vladimir Lenin.
The long-term plan may seem far-fetched, but its seeds are already sprouting. The DSA started with the Squad: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib — the usual suspects. Then they expanded to New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the communist terror-sympathizer who recently <a href="https://x.com/canarymission/status/2069522159311953929">declared</a>: &#8220;[These] were not just victories from one elected office. They were victories of a movement.&#8221; He&#8217;s right. That&#8217;s exactly the point.
The blueprint is methodical: start small in winnable local and state races, build name recognition and infrastructure, primary moderate Democrats, shift the Overton window left on wealth redistribution, housing, policing, immigration, and foreign policy (hating Israel), and eventually capture enough leverage inside the Democratic Party to make it a fully functioning vehicle for socialist priorities.
They will do this for as long as it takes. Their stamina outlasts your attention span.
They can sustain it because their promises will never go out of style: &#8220;Free housing!&#8221; &#8220;Abolish the police!&#8221; &#8220;Healthcare is a human right!&#8221; (It’s not.) But make no mistake: the only way to fulfill those promises is to seize the means of production, tax your ideas and innovation into the ground, and handicap the creative, the strong, and the successful in the name of forced equality. <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=Vonnegut+wrote+about+where+that+leads+in+1961&amp;oq=Vonnegut+wrote+about+where+that+leads+in+1961&amp;gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUyBggAEEUYOTIHCAEQIRigATIHCAIQIRigATIHCAMQIRigATIHCAQQIRigAdIBBzExM2owajeoAgCwAgA&amp;sourceid=chrome&amp;ie=UTF-8">Vonnegut wrote about where that leads in 1961</a>. Venezuela lived it more recently. The DSA is apparently unaware of either.
In the meantime, the mask slips. At a DSA Socialism conference, a panelist openly <a href="https://x.com/Lancegooden/status/2069846594371854414/video/1">declared</a>, &#8220;I want to perform abortions in a church before it&#8217;s all said and done.&#8221; This came from a panel on &#8220;The Left and the Family,&#8221; which also featured arguments for abolishing the nuclear family, placing children under state supervision rather than with parents, and celebrating sex work. Separately, DSA members have <a href="https://x.com/Liz_Wheeler/status/2069843240170451405">stated</a>: &#8220;It should not be controversial to say &#8216;Death to U.S. empire&#8217; — this should be the moderate position,&#8221; and &#8220;We need to orient ourselves toward insurrection.&#8221;
So yes. These people exist. They are organized. And while you’re watching Love Island and going on matcha dates, they are winning races.
They are also the direct antithesis of everything this country was built on. America&#8217;s foundation rests on individual liberty, limited government, secure property rights, free enterprise, and a civic culture rooted in Judeo-Christian tradition. The DSA&#8217;s project — collective economic control, mass redistribution, cultural radicalism targeting the family, and the deliberate erosion of American power abroad — attacks every single one of those pillars.
Like the Frankfurt School before them, they use American institutions as temporary hosts before devouring them from within.
These are not cartoon villains in ski masks plotting gulags for tomorrow. They are organized, funded, patient, and growing today. They believe capitalism is immoral (It’s actually the most moral economic system ever devised), and they are doing everything in their power to kill it. The Democratic Party is just a stepping stone.
The Bolsheviks didn&#8217;t win because they were right. They won because nobody took them seriously until it was too late. Don&#8217;t make the same mistake.

Zohran Mamdani Marches To First Debate In NYC

Understanding The Masterminds Behind The Communist Revolution

Democratic Socialists Of America

DW Opinion

Ramiro Valdés Menéndez, one of the last surviving commanders of the Cuban Revolution and a longtime ally of Fidel Castro, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/cuban-revolution-death-menendez-ef5629cc82a1bdce9d4c21ad1b01ee49">died Sunday at 94 years old</a>, Cuban authorities announced.
Valdés was one of the few remaining figures who connected Cuba’s current communist leadership to the original revolutionary movement that brought Castro to power in 1959. He joined Castro’s 1953 attack on the Moncada barracks, the failed assault that marked the beginning of the Cuban Revolution, and later fought under Ernesto “Che” Guevara. He became one of the few rebels to receive the title “Commander of the Revolution” and was also named a “Hero of the Republic of Cuba,” according to the Associated Press.
The Cuban Communist Party did not disclose a cause of death. President Miguel Díaz-Canel mourned Valdés publicly, saying his death felt like losing a father and praising his loyalty to Fidel and Raúl Castro.
Valdés held some of the most powerful positions in the Cuban state. He served as interior minister, telecommunications minister, vice president, and eventually became the Communist Party’s third-ranking official. Though he rarely appeared in public and did not speak to the press, he remained a symbol of the revolutionary generation that shaped Cuba’s political system for decades.
His career also reflected the internal politics of the Castro era. According to the Associated Press, Valdés fell out with Fidel Castro while serving as interior minister in 1986 and spent years outside the center of power before returning to the Council of State in 2003. In 2006, Raúl Castro chose him to lead the telecommunications ministry after taking over presidential powers from his ailing brother. Valdés was promoted to vice president three years later.
Valdés’ death comes as the Trump administration has escalated pressure on Havana. The United States <a href="https://apnews.com/article/us-sanctions-cuba-gaesa-rubio-831adf749af121c0d2627b0501980ee8">announced new sanctions this week</a> against Cuban state-run companies, including entities tied to GAESA, the military-run conglomerate that plays a major role in Cuba’s economy. Secretary of State Marco Rubio accused Cuba’s ruling elites of using the country’s resources for repression and espionage instead of serving the Cuban people.
The administration has described the sanctions as part of a broader effort to target the communist regime’s military-connected economic network.
The greater pressure campaign has also included <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2026/05/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-imposes-sanctions-on-cuban-regime-officials-responsible-for-repression-and-threats-to-u-s-national-security-and-foreign-policy/">sanctions on Cuban officials the White House says</a> are responsible for repression and threats to U.S. national security.
The timing places Valdés’ death against a familiar struggle over Cuba’s future. For Havana, he was remembered as a loyal revolutionary who remained faithful to Fidel and Raúl Castro. For critics of the regime, he represented the generation that built and defended a one-party communist state that has ruled the island for more than six decades.
Valdés was born April 28, 1932, in Artemisa, west of Havana. His career spanned more than seven decades, from the early days of the Cuban Revolution to senior leadership roles in the communist government, making him one of the last prominent figures directly tied to Fidel Castro&#8217;s rise to power.

TOPSHOT-CUBA-MAY DAY-DEMO

Infamous Castro Ally Dies As U.S. Ramps Up Pressure On Cuba

Cuba

Fidel Castro

U.S.

Mansion-marxist Hasan Piker just dropped $6,500 on seats at Madison Square Garden to watch NBA history unfold in real time. Then he went on his Twitch stream to <a href="https://x.com/HasansOldTweets/status/2065279520278556840">complain</a> about them.
&#8220;We dumped a decent amount of money for these seats,&#8221; he told his audience, visibly wounded. The seats &#8220;weren&#8217;t great, either.&#8221; The angle was bad. And when the Jumbotron rolled its celebrity list? His name wasn&#8217;t on it.
I know. We’re grieving with him during these trying times.
Let&#8217;s be very clear about who Piker is, because if you only follow the NBA and don&#8217;t spend time in the fever swamps of the online Left, you may not have had the distinct displeasure.
He is a multi-millionaire Twitch streamer, nephew of Young Turks founder Cenk Uygur, born in New Jersey, raised in Istanbul, educated in America, and perpetually furious at the country that made him rich. He has a $2.74 million West Hollywood home. He streams 10-hour political tirades against capitalism, billionaires, and wealth inequality, then logs off and counts his Twitch subscription revenue.
He has called communism the &#8220;honorable end goal&#8221; of socialism. He has said America &#8220;deserved 9/11.&#8221; He wants the streets to soak in capitalist blood. He has cheered the death of CEOs and carried water for Hamas and the Houthis. He is, in his own words, the Left&#8217;s answer to Joe Rogan. Which is, in every way, shape, and form, an insult to Joe Rogan.
And he was at Game four of the NBA Finals. Complaining.
The communists of 2026 are the most tone-deaf, hypocritical morons in modern political history, and we should point and laugh at them until they cower away for good.
If you recall, Piker is the useful idiot who flew to <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reels/DWWnL_tuHWe/'">Cuba</a> in March to campaign alongside socialists, met with the tyrannical regime, and put it all on his live-stream — all while <a href="https://www.instagram.com/reels/DWWnL_tuHWe/">donning</a> $1,500 Cartier sunglasses, a $3,000 Cartier ring, and a $700 button-up.
While he and other activists streamed from facilities with reliable electricity and air conditioning, much of the island was enduring blackouts lasting over 20 hours a day. Though he too experienced shaky internet (that darn communism), he declared Cuba &#8220;officially one of my favorite places,&#8221; and described 11 million locals suffering through rolling daily blackouts <a href="https://www.wfmd.com/2026/03/25/left-wing-influencer-downplays-cuba-blackouts-worsening-shortages-people-are-partying/">as people who were partying and &#8220;just chilling.&#8221;</a> Island mindset! Cuban exiles called his visit a &#8220;colossal mockery.&#8221; They were being generous.
When critics clocked the obvious hypocrisy of <a href="https://www-ak-ms.foxnews.com/politics/far-left-activists-stay-5-star-cuban-hotel-island-suffers-total-blackout.print">staying</a> in a five-star Gran Hotel Bristol Meliá Collection while preaching solidarity with the working poor, Piker claimed U.S. law forced his hand. This was laughable, and not to mention illegal. U.S. law prevents Americans from staying at venues owned by the Cuban government, not at private or more affordable lodgings. He lied. And kept the government-funded suite. Sure enough, Hasan later admitted to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/flashback-hasan-piker-admitted-to-colluding-with-cuban-regime-a-year-before-feds-investigated?row=0&amp;elementPosition=8&amp;rowType=Web+Search">colluding with the Cuban government</a> to plan his trip to Cuba.
When challenged on the wealth question more broadly, he delivered this nauseating line: <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us-streamers/id-rather-be-a-rich-socialist-than-a-broke-boy-defending-capitalism-hasan-piker-fires-back-at-critics/articleshow/125599284.cms">&#8220;I&#8217;d rather be a rich socialist than a broke boy defending capitalism.&#8221;</a>
Ah. There it is. The quiet part screamed out loud. He&#8217;s not confused. He&#8217;s not ignorant. He knows exactly what he&#8217;s doing. He wants to seize the wealth that free markets produce — just for himself and his team. Capitalism for me, communism for thee. History calls this tyranny. Orwell wrote a whole book about it. It had a pig on the cover.
And unfortunately, my poor, credulous Generation Z is <a href="https://x.com/i/status/2065193404917600557">eating</a> it up. Or, at least, any atheist, unmarried Gen Zers who are still <a href="https://overtoninsights.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Party-and-Demographic-Crosstabs-May-2026-Overton-Insights-Poll.pdf">living in their parents&#8217; basement</a>.
Because Hasan and Communist Inc. are charming, and because being quixotic and promising people free things is the oldest trick in the political book. Mayor Zohran Mamdani will promise free buses and deliver higher fares, more stabbings, and taxpayer-funded gender transitions. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez will promise to tax the rich until they leave, and then she has to tax you. The octogenarian Senator Bernie Sanders has been promising free healthcare from one of his three vacation homes since before most of his supporters were born. The promise is always free. The delivery is always costly.
But here&#8217;s what&#8217;s heartening about his ultimate humbling. The arena didn&#8217;t know his name. The jumbotron didn&#8217;t blink. He was in the same building as Taylor Swift and Donald Trump … why would the crowd care about a millionaire in a Keffiyeh? The celebrity list moved on without him. New York City — his adopted ideological home, Mamdani’s fiefdom — looked right past him.
For now, we’re still okay. The world doesn’t know about the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-pied-piker-is-leading-all-the-anti-american-vermin?author=Chloe+Trapanotto&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=12&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=The+Pied+Piker+Is+Leading+All+The+Anti-American+Vermin">Pied Piker</a>. Americans haven’t succumbed to his Marxist ideology or adopted his gleeful contempt for their own country.
He is still just a loser and a streamer. Dwelling in his online rabbit holes, follower counts, and in the warm bath of people who already agree with him.
On Monday night at Madison Square Garden, he was just a guy in an expensive seat who decided he liked basketball the moment his socialist <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DIJlcjEOY-4/">boyfriend</a> did.
The jumbotron saw Hasan Piker and moved on. So should we.

Web Summit Vancouver 2026 – Day Two

Millionaire-Mansion Piker Is No Match For Madison Square Garden

Maine’s Mamdani has had better days. Faced with <a href="https://www.pressherald.com/2026/06/04/platner-bragged-of-nazi-tattoo-to-ex-physically-threatened-another-new-york-times-report-says/">new allegations</a> about his personal life, U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner — the far-left Democrat with the <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/hated-women-explosive-abuse-new-nazi-tattoo-allegations-exes-rock-platners-campaign">infamous Nazi tattoo</a> — is fighting for political survival in a <a href="https://www.themainewire.com/2026/06/pro-collins-pac-internal-poll-shows-her-tied-with-platner-as-more-controversies-continue-to-plague-the-democrat/">neck-and-neck race</a> against incumbent Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME).
<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/04/us/politics/platner-maine-senate-girlfriends-relationships.html">According to The New York Times</a>, several women who dated Platner describe the candidate as “disturbing” and “intimidating.” One ex-girlfriend <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/04/us/politics/platner-maine-senate-girlfriends-relationships.html">claimed</a> he “could be rough with her.” The accusations are enough to prompt even senior Democrats to express reservations, despite Maine offering a pathway to Senate control. Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) — a Platner supporter — <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2026/06/04/platner-democrats-furious-new-york-times-report-00951496">spoke out</a>, “The behavior described in the New York Times story was wrong and toxic.” Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) <a href="https://abcnews.com/Politics/sen-warner-platner-allegations-disturbing-decision-voters-maine/story?id=133660274">called</a> the allegations “disturbing” if true.
These are not Republican talking points. <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2026/06/04/platner-democrats-furious-new-york-times-report-00951496">To quote a senior Democratic Senate aide</a>, “Everyone is apoplectic.”
Now, I am not one to judge a man based on allegations alone. Platner can take it up with God. We are all flawed, and political candidates often deeply so. Nor am I one to hold politicians to some lofty standard of moral decency and ethical conduct. Elected officials are public servants, but they don’t need to be role models. Inspiration can be found elsewhere.
But Mainers are missing the point. What matters most in this situation — in any election — is Platner’s worldview, which is his most disqualifying attribute even after the New York Times bombshell. For a candidate like Platner to resonate so much in Maine, a state near and dear to my heart, is at once disturbing and disheartening. Maine voters are <a href="https://www.wsj.com/video/series/on-the-news/maine-voters-back-senate-candidate-graham-platner-despite-allegations/41738C56-FF2E-4E18-A9A9-3C9802BCA5EC">doubling down on Platner politics</a> that make <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2026-election/janet-mills-shows-no-sign-reigniting-maine-senate-bid-graham-platners-rcna348706">Janet Mills</a> look like an establishment Republican.
Platner is a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/10/16/politics/kfile-graham-platner-maine-senate-candidate-deleted-reddit-posts">self-proclaimed</a> “communist” who <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2026/06/07/graham-platner-maine-primary-senate-susan-collins-00953171">believes that billionaires shouldn’t exist</a>. He has <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/top-off-the-wall-reddit-posts-haunting-graham-platners-maine-senate-bid">supported using deadly violence</a> against political opponents, dismisses “all” police officers as “bastards,” and believes that rural white Americans “actually are” racist and stupid. This comes from an oyster farmer in Sullivan, Maine — a population of barely 1,000 — who <a href="https://www.grahamforsenate.com/about">readily promotes his small-town story</a> as a working-class, anti-establishment badge of honor.
What the Maine Mamdani <a href="https://nypost.com/2026/06/05/us-news/meet-the-champagne-socialist-duo-who-groomed-rich-kid-graham-platner-into-working-class-candidate/">fails to promote</a> is his attendance at an $80,000-a-year boarding school, his lawyer father, or his <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2006/04/20/arts/design/warren-platner-designer-is-dead-at-86.html">world-renowned architect grandfather</a> associated with a nearly <a href="https://www.priceypads.com/warren-platner-masterpiece-9750000/">$10 million real estate</a>. As former Maine Democratic Party chairman Tony Buxton put it, “If he’s an oysterman, I’m a florist, OK? Because I raise roses and give them to my wife.”
Nevertheless, Platner <a href="https://www.grahamforsenate.com/platform">rails against</a> America’s “billionaire economy” in a state with <a href="https://www.patriotledger.com/story/business/2025/04/02/how-many-billionaires-live-in-nh-maine-heres-the-2025-forbes-list/82778310007/">one billionaire</a> (Dexter Shoe Company heiress Susan Alfond), and he supports Medicare for All as a silver bullet. Our nation may need healthcare reform, but Platner’s vision of universal healthcare would cost Maine <a href="https://mainemorningstar.com/2025/05/15/amid-rising-costs-lawmaker-wants-to-restart-conversation-about-universal-health-care/">nearly $20 billion</a> — <a href="https://legislature.maine.gov/ofpr/total-state-budget-information/9304">more than the state’s entire budget</a>. A federal Medicare for All plan would amount to an <a href="https://www.crfb.org/papers/choices-financing-medicare-all">estimated $30 trillion to $40 trillion</a> over a decade. On an annual basis, this means that a single government healthcare program would account for about half of the annual federal budget (<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-03-12/us-budget-gap-hits-record-1-1-trillion-for-fiscal-year-so-far">roughly $7 trillion per year</a>).
If Platner confiscated the assets of all U.S. billionaires in far-left fairytale-land, Medicare for All could be funded — <a href="https://americansfortaxfairness.org/billionaires-1-5-trillion-richer-trumps-first-year/">for a year or two</a>. (This is impractical on multiple levels, given that much of billionaire wealth is derived from unrealized capital gains.)
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Back in reality, how do we pay for it? That part doesn’t make the final cut of a Platner campaign ad. On the conservative side, it would require a combination of a 32% payroll tax, a 25% income surtax, a 42% value-added tax, a $7,500-per-capita mandatory public premium, doubling all income tax rates, reducing non-health spending by 80%, or increasing debt to 105% of GDP.
<a href="https://www.crfb.org/papers/choices-financing-medicare-all">As the nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget notes</a>, taxes on high earners and corporations alone could not finance Medicare for All. Taxes would have to go up on middle-class Mainers. How that makes the state more affordable remains unclear.
And that is just one Platner pipe dream, without even mentioning the proposed federal investments for environmental action, social justice, and other programs that would cost trillions of dollars in magic money.
On its 250th anniversary, America has many problems, but communism is never the solution. The popularity of Platner or New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani doesn’t make them pragmatic or principled.
For too many reasons to count, Mainers deserve much better than Graham Platner. But only they can disqualify him for good.
***
Luka Ladan is the President and CEO at <a href="https://zenicapr.com/">Zenica Public Relations</a>, based in Miami, Florida.

Senator Bernie Sanders Holds Fighting Oligarchy Event With Senate Candidate Graham Platner

The Most Disqualifying Thing About Graham Platner Isn’t What You Think

graham platner

Maine

Medicare for All

This article is part of <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/upstream" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Upstream</a>, The Daily Wire’s new home for culture and lifestyle. Real human insight and human stories — from our featured writers to you.
***
Vladimir Lenin <a href="https://www.marxists.org/archive/lenin/works/1917/staterev/ch05.htm">quoted</a> Karl Marx as saying, “The oppressed are allowed once every few years to decide which particular representatives of the oppressing class are to represent and repress them.” When the modern oppressed looked deep inside themselves, much as the Ghostbusters <a href="https://youtu.be/2zhDfUAQSbs?si=wSyhYDRhh6Tbft9x&amp;t=101">did</a>, they tried to do good and instead failed, choosing <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/20/style/grown-up-theater-kids.html?unlocked_article_code=1.llA.kN9_.Oc99OV8afaU3&amp;smid=url-share">theater kids</a> rather than the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. And if there’s one thing theater kids are going to do, it’s theater, which sometimes involves making films.
“I Love Boosters” is such a film, one <a href="https://x.com/alexchristy17/status/2055314091938390107">described</a> by “The Daily Show’s” Jordan Klepper as “&#8217;Pee-wee’s Big Adventure&#8217; if it were directed by Karl Marx with a bunch of Molly in the background.” It plunges you into a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1xZegSgN8w" target="_blank" rel="noopener">surreal world</a> centered on a group of boosters (people who steal clothes and resell them at a price significantly lower than retail) and their leader’s infatuation with fashion designer Christie Smith (Demi Moore). 
The Velvet Gang, as the group of boosters is known, regularly steals massive amounts of clothing from Smith’s stores. Then, the gang’s leader Corvette (Keke Palmer) along with henchwomen Sade (Naomi Ackie) and Mariah (Taylour Paige) sell the wares in apartments redesigned as shops and on the street, helping the less successful among us stay fashion forward. In that way, they’re like the Robin Hoods of haute couture, or at least that’s what the message seems to be. 
What I have just described boasts a <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/i_love_boosters#critics-reviews">92%</a> average from film critics on Rotten Tomatoes, though it only scores a <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/i_love_boosters/reviews/all-audience">72%</a> average with the actual audience. That’s impressive for a movie that leaves most people saying “huh?” when you tell them you went to see “I Love Boosters.” It’s so disjointed that even people who wanted to see it can barely get it out of C- territory. (As verified reviewer Ben wrote, “No idea what I just watched. A waste of time. I should have walked out of the movie and stared at a puddle of water instead, would have been more entertaining.&#8221;)
When your anti-capitalist/pro-communist film is only hitting with the bourgeoisie and not the proletariat, well, congratulations, I suppose, because that’s usually the target audience for communism. Though the bourgeoisie in “I Love Boosters” solely consists of billionaire Smith, with everyone else being part of the proletariat, except for a group of people who wear literal skin suits and a demon who sucks the souls from people in a manner that I will not be describing here. Suffice it to say, though, that the literal demon is a good guy, somehow. 
There’s also Jianhu (<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-miseducation-of-poppy-liu" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Poppy Liu</a>), a rival booster from a Chinese sweatshop where Smith’s clothing is made, though she’s not trying to sell fast fashion to the victims of the Chinese Communist regime, but instead lobbies for better pay and labor practices inside the sweatshop. This, of course, is also a very American communist bourgeoisie approach to Chinese atrocities, except actually they tend to lobby for <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/29/business/economy/nike-coca-cola-xinjiang-forced-labor-bill.html?unlocked_article_code=1.llA.bu6i.W5tmRya7K4xZ&amp;smid=url-share">continued atrocities</a>. Not that the pro-communist leanings of the movie are any more obvious while watching it than they would be while staring at a puddle of water. 
Mostly, it’s just a film that centers on Corvette’s anger with Smith, who refers to the Velvet Gang as “low class, urban b*tches,” which, okay? I’m not a communist, so perhaps I’m missing something, but theft isn’t something I associate with the middle or upper classes. 
If I were a communist, though, I could argue that the Velvet Gang members are merely victims of the capitalist system of oppression that prevents them from rising up into the ranks of the professional managerial class and stealing from the proletariat, and also that “urban” is just thinly veiled racism. (Fair, just don’t ask the modern communists why identity politics is <a href="https://jacobin.com/2025/01/elite-identity-politics-professional-class">actually bad for the cause</a>, comrade.) 
Also, Corvette is aggrieved because she failed to become a famous fashion designer, mostly because she’s afraid to give it a shot, other than posting some designs on Instagram, one of which Smith may have stolen. This is the most unintentional and hilariously revealing insight into the modern American theater kid’s envious rage against capitalism that the film offers, and would strike a blow to its premise if theater kids had any conception of irony. 
In any case, Corvette continues along, planning one final giant heist with her fellow gang members plus Jianhu, who has a teleporter/deconstructor/accelerator machine (don’t ask). They succeed. Chinese factory workers go on strike, win their concessions from the Chinese Communist Party, and get improved pay and working conditions in their sweatshop instead of being murdered for going against the paramount leader. This inspires global protests, the theater kids’ primary mode of communication. Presumably, there’s a glorious uprising that happens sometime after the movie ends. 
There may have been a post-credits Easter egg detailing the final five-year plan, but I wouldn’t know, as I didn’t stay for the full credits to roll. Granted, I am not the target audience for “I Love Boosters.” Critics are known for loving hot garbage, so they get a pass, but there are four- and five-star audience reviews on Rotten Tomatoes. There is praise for the anti-capitalist message. Several reviews mention love for the cast. Some people seem to genuinely love the rollicking, disjointed, confusing “plot.” That’s fine. We’re a pluralist country, and I used to pretend to like “Eraserhead.” I’m not totally innocent here. 
But as an anti-capitalist commentary, does it work? This is where I am sad to report that yes, it does, at least partly, and not in its intended way. Because if this is the type of art that capitalists, albeit the faux communist flavor of capitalists, are funding, then it may be time to eviscerate the bourgeoisie theater kids and bring forth a glorious uprising of whatever class it is that would rather stare into a puddle of water.
***
Rich Cromwell is a writer living in Northwest Arkansas. He produces the Cookin’ Up a Story podcast, which you can listen to <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/cookin-up-a-story/id1624969096" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>. You can also follow him on X: <a href="https://x.com/rcromwell4">@rcromwell4</a>.

“I Love Boosters” New York Special Screening

Leftist Hollywood Critics Drool Over Bizarre Anti-Capitalist Movie. Audiences Aren’t Buying It.

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