Is Kamala Harris a Communist?

Donald Trump keeps calling Kamala Harris a communist. Is this just one of Trump's nicknames? Or is there any truth to the claim? Welcome to America Uncovered, I'm Chris Chappell. Before we begin, I have a goal to get to 600,000 subscribers by the end of the year. So if you're watching and you're not subscribed, please hit that subscribe button. Now on with the greatest show on Earth. Are the rumors true? Is Vice President Kamala Harris a red-blooded communist, as opposed to cold-blooded like all the lizard people in Washington? Well many in right-wing circles certainly think she is a communist. TBD on the lizard thing. It's a claim circulating like wildfire through hashtags like Communism with a K. And some interesting AI-generated pictures, which I find offensive. This is taking work away from actual human propagandists. It's already been pointed out how at one point Harris was ranked as one of the most liberal senators, even left of self-avowed socialist Bernie Sanders. This has given critics ammo to pick virtually everything Harris has said apart to prove that she's a communist. Marx called for the forcible overthrow of all existing social conditions. So when Harris called for upending the system after George Floyd's death, becoming unburdened by what has been, and vowing to chart a new way forward—and even fight for it—to some, that sounds like echoing Marxist ideology. To others, that just sounds like wanting reform. But Trump, never one to sit out a chance to get a jab in, is also getting in on the communism bandwagon. He's not only sharing his own AI-generated pic of Communist Harris, but also by labeling Harris and Democrats communists. Under Kamala Harris and the communist left, our country is under invasion. Comrade Kamala Harris is terrible for our country, absolutely terrible. She is a communist, has always been a communist, and will always be a communist. We must defeat comrade Kamala Harris. I use that term because you know what that term means, right? Communist. She's a Marxist, communist, fascist, socialist. She's not actually a socialist. She's gone past that. We cannot allow comrade Kamala Harris and the communists left to do to America what they did to California. Critics also point out Harris's father, Donald Harris, was a Marxist economist. However, he and her mother separated when Harris was only 7, so I'm not sure how much influence he had on her. Although I wonder if trying to beat another Donald is cathartic for Harris? So is Kamala Harris really the communist the people say she is? Looks like it's time for another segment of, Wait, Is That True? First off, as far as we know, there's no evidence Harris is a member of a Communist Party. And pictures like these, claiming to be Harris's Communist Party ID card, are forged. But you probably figured that out already. I hope. If you haven't, these pictures aren't real either. But it is absolutely possible for someone to hold Marxist sympathies or ideologies without being a registered communist. So what do Harris's policies actually say? Well, there's no better place to find out than from the horse's mouth. Unfortunately for all of us, the Harris campaign finally published a policy page, just a day before the debate. Bold calling it a new way forward since she's the incumbent. Looking at her policies, we can see a lot of her economic proposals scream equity, something that Harris pretty much made as her unofficial slogan. Well, besides joy. Joy! It has to be about a goal of saying everybody should end up in the same place. And since we didn't start in the same place, some folks might need more. Equitable distribution. As opposed to equity, which is everyone should end up in the same place. So equality of outcome. Make of that what you will. But it doesn't stop there. In order to promote equity, Harris proposes rolling back tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, enacting a billionaire minimum tax, raising taxes on stock buybacks, increasing long-term capital gains for millionaires, and raising the minimum wage. Which is a redistribution of wealth, but not quite in the Mao Zedong sense of it. However, something not mentioned on Harris's policy page that is certainly controversial is Harris's proposal to tax unrealized capital gains. This is in addition to what drew some of the most outrage—Harris's plan to enact price controls in the name of fighting corporate price gouging. While it may have been a stretch to call those other policies communist, communist countries with planned economies like the Soviet Union frequently used price controls. Not exactly something you'd want for your economy. If you'd like me to do an in-depth episode on price controls and why they're bad, let me know in the comments below. I guarantee, I'll give you a more well-researched explanation than that guy you went to high school with who claims to be an economics expert despite still investing in NFTs. There's also Harris's threat back in 2019 to snatch patents from pharmaceutical companies that don't comply with government price controls. I will snatch their patent. So that we will take over. And yes, we can do that. Yes. Yes, we can do that. The question is, do you have the will to do it? I have the will to do it. Supporting government theft might not be the best way to attract those middle-of-the-road voters she desperately needs. But you do you. So do all these positions Harris publicly takes prove that she's a communist? Well here's the tricky thing. Communists, like other ideologues, have intentionally made it difficult to define things in order to hide their intentions. Where exactly do you draw the line as to what counts as communist? Lots of things, like raising taxes on the rich, raising the minimum wage, and enacting universal health care, can be interpreted as communist. But you could also say the same thing about Social Security. And you won't hear Republicans calling for an end to it, since their voter base tends to be older Americans. And you can tell since every other commercial run on Fox News is from Ed Musil. Same thing with the Pledge of Allegiance. That was actually made by a socialist who believed Jesus was a socialist. And yet Republicans say we need the Pledge of Allegiance in our classrooms. Those dirty Republican socialists. They went so far to the right, they're now on the left. The point is that it's not so black and white. What one person considers communist might be considered something entirely different by another person, especially in today's politically charged environment. And as far as we're aware, Harris isn't pushing for some large-scale confiscation of private property. In fact, she's actually encouraging private property ownership by promising to expand startup expense tax reductions for new businesses, and provide financial aid to first-time homebuyers. In reality, many of Harris's policies certainly have left communists disappointed. For example, Harris brags about having helped provide nearly $170 billion in student debt relief for almost 5 million borrowers. And she helped increase the maximum Pell Grant award for college students by $900. Instead of, you know, eliminating all debt and making everything free. Considering how much she loves locking things up, she can't stand seeing anything go free. Some even accuse Harris of not just being not socialist enough, but of actually being right-wing on things like criminal justice during her time as a prosecutor. So she's seen as far left by the far right, and far right by the far left. No wonder she gets so confused during speeches, she doesn't know which way she's headed. Now with all that said, I have a feeling that when people call Harris a communist, the main motivation is to paint her in the most negative light possible. The same way people call Trump a racist and a fascist. Trump's comments on a Lex Friedman interview seem to indicate just that. Whenever we use terms like communism for her, and I don't know if you know this, but some people call you a fascist. Yeah, they do. So I figure it's all right to call them a communist. Yeah, they call me a lot worse than I call them. Is Donald Trump saying fascism is worse than communism? Huh, that's something a communist would say! The hat is red, people! But here's what should matter for you. However you define communism or fascism, the end goal is for people in power to take away your power. To take away your freedoms. They'll use all kinds of pretty sounding language to justify why it's a good thing. Equity. Going after the bad guys. Don't fall for it. Because as they say, you can vote your way into communism, but you'll have to shoot your way out. Well, except for the Velvet Revolution. Okay, look, there's always nuance. That's why making this show is hard. I don't just call Trump a fascist or Harris a communist. Picking a side would be easier. I'd probably have a much bigger audience if I was preaching to a choir. But that's why you're special. Because you want the nuance. So thank you for watching America Uncovered. Once again, I'm Chris Chappell. See you next time.