Trump Amplifies Pundit’s Call to Deport Democratic Socialists

On July 4, President Donald Trump posted a 49-minute video by conservative radio host Michael Savage to his Truth Social account. In the video, Savage urges the United States to “criminalize and deport ‘hardcore communist bastards’” such as New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani, a self-identified democratic socialist. Trump’s repost follows a series of recent posts in which he warned that Democratic Party leaders are allowing “unattractive” socialists to “take over” the party.

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The video appears amid a wave of primary victories by candidates affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America, including Mamdani’s 2023 mayoral win and the successful campaigns of Darializa Avila Chevalier and Claire Valdez in New York. Trump has repeatedly framed such candidates as a national security threat, likening their policies to “communism” and, in earlier remarks, comparing the danger to that of World Wars and the September 11 attacks. Despite a prior friendly White House meeting with Mamdani, Trump’s recent messaging intensifies his long-standing anti-socialist rhetoric.

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Trump’s posts on Truth Social characterized the socialist surge as a “move” that has begun in the United States, describing it as a “game” now underway. In his Fourth of July speech, he called communism a “cancer” that must be addressed immediately. Savage’s video accuses democratic socialists of planning to turn the country into a “socialist utopia” through “free” programs, while also dismissing the relevance of Supreme Court decisions, including a recent ruling upholding birthright citizenship. The president’s amplification of Savage’s extremist language has drawn attention to the administration’s stance on immigration and free-speech limits concerning political ideology.

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Establishment Democrats expressed alarm at the rhetoric. A centrist House Democrat told Axios that the socialist wave would become a “headache” for the party, while commentator Bill Maher warned that embracing “crazy” socialists could jeopardize the midterms. Political strategist James Carville urged congressional Democrats to distance themselves from socialist candidates. Public opinion remains divided: a recent Economist/YouGov poll found that one-third of Americans would back a democratic socialist, 45 % would not, 32 % view socialism favorably, and 39 % view it unfavorably.

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• “That is exactly what Mamdani and the Democratic Socialists will do to you,” — Michael Savage

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• “Forget the smirks, forget the smiles, forget the b*llshit that it’s like Denmark and Norway. These are hardcore communist bastards who must be stopped, criminalized and deported. I’m clear as a bell on this .We will fall if they are deported.” — Michael Savage

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• “I don’t give a sh*t what the Supreme Court says! I don’t give an F what The New York Times says! Decriminalize the Democrat Socialist Party and deport them now, before you lose your freedom and your life.” — Michael Savage

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• “The game is on,” — Donald Trump

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• “He said during his Fourth of July speech that communism is a “cancer” that must be dealt with ASAP.” — Donald Trump

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