Democratic Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania has criticized members of his own party for supporting socialism, calling them “morons” during a recent discussion about the ideology. The remarks came as Zohran Mamdani, who has been associated with socialist ideas, rises in the polls for the New York City mayoral race.
Fetterman recounted an experience he had while visiting Croatia, a country that was formerly under communist rule. He described a conversation with a local resident about socialism. According to Fetterman, “I literally was in a former communist nation, and I asked that. I said, ‘Some people in my party, some of the lefties are talking about socialism now. What do you think?’ And he’s like, ‘That’s the worst thing ever. You would never want to live here, I’ve lived through that kind of a thing. You’re going to need a reality check if you ever adopt any of those things. You know, like, you are morons. It’s like, it was a nightmare for us, and now we are a free market nation.’ It was Croatia.”
His comments were made in response to a question referencing a Gallup poll indicating that 42 percent of Democratic voters view capitalism favorably while 66 percent have a favorable view of socialism.
A video clip capturing Fetterman’s statements circulated on social media platforms.
The political climate within the Democratic Party has shifted over recent years regarding views on socialism. During Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, Democrats often rejected accusations of being socialists; however, figures such as Bernie Sanders have since contributed to greater openness among some party members toward socialist policies.
