U.S. President Donald Trump is quick to attack Democratic Party opponents as “socialists,” and he even calls New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani a “communist” (although Mamdani identifies as a “democratic socialist,” not a promoter of communism or Marxist-Leninism). But according to political science professor and former U.S. ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul, Trump is embracing “communism” when he favors the federal government obtaining partial ownership of private companies.
McFaul’s comments stem from CNBC’s recent interview with Trump.
During the interview, Trump defended asking tech company Intel to give the federal government 10 percent of the company.
Trump told CNBC, “You know, we had virtually nothing. We didn’t make chips anymore. And Intel came in. They had a problem. I said, ‘I can solve your problem, but I want 10 percent of the company.’ They said, ‘What?’ I said, ‘I want 10 percent of the company.’ And he agreed to it.”
The president continued, “And the stock has gone through. So, I think we made $60 or 70 billion in eight months. Do I get credit for that? No. Somebody said, ‘That’s not very American.’ I said, ‘No, I think it’s very American, actually.’ And I’ve done that with other deals. … It worked out well from our standpoint. We really had no investment.”
On X, formerly Twitter, journalist Aaron Rupar posted video of that part of the CNBC interview. And the 62-year-old McFaul had a strong reaction to Trump’s comments.
McFaul posted, on X, “State ownership of companies is communism. Shocking to me how passive Republicans have reacted to these Trump actions. I thought they believed in capitalism, free enterprise and the like.”
McFaul’s post is generating a lot of comments on X.
Author Jethro Remington humorously posted, “If Trump says it’s American, then by golly it’s American! Razing the White House? American! Profiting from the presidency? American! Killing 165 Iranian children? American! Giving no-bid contracts to friends & donors? American! Not respecting your president? UnAmerican!”
James O’Grady, president of Unpublished Media, wrote, “MAGA aren’t smart enough to believe in anything. They are the ultimate lackies. Followers. Minions. Dumb as the day is long.”
McFaul, a longtime Democrat, joined the Barack Obama administration as a White House senior adviser in 2009. In 2011, then-President Obama appointed McFaul U.S. ambassador to Russia — a position he held until 2014.