Trump’s demagogic and fear mongering remarks were laced with anti-communism and anti-socialism. This served two purposes. First, to paint all Democrats as dangerous radicals and socialists, who pose a domestic threat to American values and then to drive that wedge in the anti-extreme right electoral alliance.
Sen. Richard Durbin (Ill) was clear on the intended purpose. “Every authoritarian regime of the last century has prefaced their grab for power by saying you’ve got to stop the left. Sometimes they call it socialist, sometimes they call it communist,” he said.
One important dynamic driving the anti-extreme-right electoral alliance is shifting attitudes toward socialism. A majority of Democratic voters, particularly youth, have a positive attitude toward socialism, as they understand it.
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