By Bill Gertz (The Washington Times)
President Trump has designated early November as “anti-communism week,” days after democratic socialists that he has called communists made significant gains in the mid-term elections.
For more than a century, human freedom has been threatened by communist and socialist ideologies that block individual rights, subjugate populations under state control and extinguish God-given rights that are central to free nations, Mr. Trump said in a statement.
“This Anti-Communism Week, we are reminded of the devastating consequences of state control over human thought, creativity, and political expression, resulting in suffering, poverty, exploitation, violence, and misery for millions, and we renew our commitment to protect the sacred values of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness from the chains of tyranny,” Mr. Trump said.
The designation recognizing the threat of communism was released on an Election Day that saw Republicans suffer historic defeats in Congress and state houses in the mid-term elections that switched control of Congress from Republicans to Democrats.
Also, the elections saw additional socialists from the Democratic Socialists of America win seats in Congress.
Six new DSA-backed House members won congressional seats along with two DSA incumbents. DSA-aligned Abdul El-Sayed won Michigan’s Senate seat, though he rejects the DSA label.
In addition to socialist Mayors Zohran Mamdani in New York and Katie Wilson in Seattle, socialist Janeese Lewis George was elected mayor in Washington and DSA member Nithya Raman was elected mayor in Los Angeles.
Mr. Trump called democratic socialists, including the DSA, communists.
“These are not social democrats. These are hardcore, godless communists. They’re godless communists,” Mr. Trump said during a speech in June.
“All communists are godless. They don’t believe in God. This is the most serious threat to our country since its existence. In my opinion, 250 years ago. This is a major threat to our country.”
The DSA denies being communist and has described itself as “anti-capitalist,” a key tenet of Marxism, but the group has not taken a public stance on the role of Marxist ideology. It has acknowledged that within the party are Marxist and Marxist-Leninist factions.
Communism began in the 1840s with Karl Marx’s Communist Manifesto and was solidified in power under Russia’s Vladimir Lenin, who altered the ideology by claiming a small “vanguard” revolutionary party must take control of governments in pursuing an ideal worker’s paradise.
Under communist ideology, socialism is a stage on history’s predetermined march to the utopian ideal.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, communism today is being promoted under China’s President Xi Jinping. He has called Marxism “truth” and added Chinese characteristics to the ideology.
China is expanding communism globally through several Chinese Communist Party programs, including the Global Governance Initiative, Global Security Initiative and the Belt and Road Initiative.
Mr. Trump said in the statement that the American experiment is under a renewed threat of socialist, communist and radical leftist ideologies that are gaining traction in the country.
The federal government needs to remain vigilant in defending the principles of the U.S. founding and make sure that the history of communism is not forgotten.
The Black Book of Communism, a 1997 history written by European experts, estimated that under communism in the Soviet Union, China, and other regimes, at least 100 million people have died.
In communist China, as many as 60 million people have died since 1949 under socialist policies that produced a famine, a Cultural Revolution and extermination policies aimed at people whom the ideology calls “enemies of the state.”
Mr. Trump said the anti-communism week will honor the victims of socialism and communism and defend freedoms that are denied under the ideology.
America, Mr. Trump stated, has a history of standing up to tyranny and maintaining a free and self-governing republic.
“As president, I will always protect the founding principles for which so many fought and died,” he stated.
“Together, we will defend our Constitution, which protects our freedoms; uphold the dignity of every individual; strengthen the free market, which has made us the most prosperous country ever to exist; and ensure that the promise of America remains alive and well for generations to come.”
“I call upon all Americans to stand firm in their defense against any threat to the American way of life and to protect our burning flame of liberty from the darkness of communism.”
This article was made available to WMAL via The Washington Times.
