Democratic candidates are getting a lot of help from Republicans, and particularly Donald Trump, when it comes to their economic messaging for the 2026 midterm elections, a CNN panel assessed on Friday.
The New York Times’ Lulu Garcia-Navarro explained that while Trump is shouting about communism, Americans are growing increasingly annoyed with an economy that isn’t working for them while making billionaires richer. One of those billionaires, of course, is Trump.
CNN host Audie Cornish showed that approval of capitalism has declined, but she questioned whether this truly meant people were turning toward economic policies like socialism.
“Frequently on the show we are talking about why are people moving towards democratic socialism? Where I have a question is what if they’re not? What if they are frustrated with a broken financial social contract?” she questioned.
Far-right conservative Terry Schilling confessed that the economy clearly isn’t working for everyone, but he proposed “more rules” as a solution. Democrats argue such regulations have been slowly whittled away by conservatives who believe in “trickle-down economics,” where giving money to the wealthiest ultimately comes down to the non-millionaire class.
“I don’t think Americans are embracing socialism or communism. Even I think that they’re just tired of getting —” he cut himself off to turn back to the “great recession,” which began with the market crashes in 2007 and 2008.
Sounding more like a Democrat, Schilling agreed, “Americans just want a fair deal. They want to know that if they go to college, they can get a good job that pays the bills. They can afford a home, they can afford a family.”
Cornish asked whether it’s a smart move to tell the frustrated Americans that they’re “bad” and “communists.” Instead of acknowledging that the economy isn’t working for everyone, she remarked that Republicans have brought back anti-communist language.
Garcia-Navarro exclaimed, “Yeah! That!”
“Listen, I think the demonizing and the use of communists as a scare tactic, especially for young people, they don’t remember what that is,” she explained. “So, therefore, that is not scary to them. That might be scary to some people in my mother’s age group who fled from Cuba, and she’s in her 80s. But that isn’t scary to the younger generation. What’s scary to them, and I mentor a lot of young people, is that they’re entering the job market, and they think they’re going to be replaced by AI.”
She explained that those democratic socialists aren’t talking about communism; instead, they’re focused on messaging that involves the billionaire class paying their taxes and contributing to the social contract.
“That makes sense to people,” she said. “So, the scare tactic of like, everything’s going to be free, and everything’s going to fall apart, it doesn’t make sense to them. In an economy where you see the very, very rich swanning around and people can’t make rent.”
CNN legal analysts wondered what the polling on the word “billionaires” looks like.
“This ‘stick it to him’ concept of there is a ruling class of folks who aren’t out to take care of you .. and take advantage of you,” he said. “And, you know, this income inequality has run amok. That’s a central message. And even the centrist candidate here is co-opting.”
It’s one of the main reasons that stories about Trump’s ballroom and gilded embellishments contribute to American anger.
Garcia-Navarro said, “It’s a good message. Why? Because you have a billionaire in the White House who has, you know, building a ballroom and painting everything gold.
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