President Donald Trump shared a video on social media Sunday that called for the deportation of several prominent democratic socialist politicians, including New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, drawing renewed attention to his criticism of the movement.
The nearly 49-minute video was created by conservative radio host Michael Savage and originally posted on July 4.
In the video, Savage argues that democratic socialist candidates are steering the U.S. toward socialism through expanded government programs and compares the movement to the communist regime led by Cambodia’s Pol Pot.
“These are hardcore communist bastards who must be stopped, criminalized and deported,” Savage said in the video. “We will fall if they are not deported.”
Savage also singled out Mamdani and Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders (I), calling for them and other democratic socialist politicians to be criminalized and deported because of their political views.
Later in the video, Savage criticized the Supreme Court’s recent decision upholding birthright citizenship and repeated his call for the deportation of democratic socialist elected officials.
Trump reposted the video without additional public comment.
The president has frequently criticized democratic socialism, arguing that the ideology poses a threat to the U.S.
Speaking to reporters last month, Trump said democratic socialism is effectively another form of communism.
“They use the word social democrat because it sounds so nice, but it’s really communism you’re talking about,” Trump said.
Trump has also argued that progressive candidates win support by promising expansive government benefits that he says cannot be sustained.
The repost drew attention because Trump previously held a cordial meeting at the White House with Mamdani after the New York City mayor won his election.
In recent months, Trump has intensified his criticism of progressive Democrats as several democratic socialist-backed candidates won primary elections across the country, as reported by The Hill.
Those victories have fueled debate within the Democratic Party over whether embracing more progressive policies could energize voters or hurt the party in competitive general election races.
Supporters of democratic socialism argue that the movement advocates expanded social welfare programs similar to those in several European countries and reject comparisons to authoritarian communist governments.
A recent Economist/YouGov poll found that about one-third of Americans said they would consider voting for a democratic socialist candidate, while 45% said they would not.
The survey also found that 32% of respondents viewed socialism favorably, compared with 39% who viewed it unfavorably.
