A House Democrat publicly blasted the Democratic Socialists of America, arguing they do not belong in his party and accusing them of trying to take it over with radical ideas. The exchange centers on clashes over values, convention footage, and whether socialists should found their own political vehicle instead of reshaping the Democratic Party.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer made his stance plain in a recent interview, and he did not mince words. “Obviously, I’m a very proud, commonsense Democrat, and I don’t think DSA members are Democrats. They’re socialists, right? And I’m all for them having their own party if they want one, but if they’re trying to take over our party, that’s unacceptable to me,” he said.
He argued the DSA’s platform and behavior clash with mainstream Democratic priorities and leadership, pointing to troubling rhetoric he heard. “Their values, their ideas are certainly not in line with ours, and they don’t support our leadership. They’re trying to use the Democratic Party as a vessel for their ideas. And as you heard in some of these conventions, literally, they’re supporting the Communist Manifesto and [Leon] Trotsky, they’re anti-American, they are anti-cop, they don’t believe in borders.”
Footage from the DSA’s Chicago convention has fed the fire, showing members making provocative claims about campus policing and ideology. One socialist spoke about organizing a front to get “ICE off our campuses,” while another insisted their platform is “the most American thing you can do.” Another member even compared socialism to religious upbringing, saying it is the “same kind of stuff that I am used to [in] growing up in the Christian Church.”
Gottheimer highlighted the scale gap between traditional Democrats and the DSA, stressing party cohesion matters to voters. He contrasted roughly 45 million registered Democrats with about 150,000 official DSA members and warned that fringe groups should not dictate party direction. “They’re not welcome in the Democratic Party,” he said.
Not everyone on the left agrees on how to respond to inequality, and voices like Rep. Ro Khanna say the party needs reform to better serve working families. Gottheimer pushed back, arguing that both parties face insurgent factions that want to “barge in” with ideas he says are incompatible with core principles. He painted the situation as a test of whether a major party will remain broad and pragmatic or drift into ideological purity.
The debate over who counts as a legitimate party voice extended to cultural figures the congressman rejects as potential leaders. “Well, [House Minority Leader Hakeem] Jeffries won’t — and let me be very clear that Hasan Piker is not a Democrat – the guy is the ultimate grifter, right? He’s the guy who said that 9/11 is America’s fault… We’ve got to make it clear he’s not welcome in the Democratic Party,” Gottheimer said, calling out personalities he views as unmoored from American values.
Gottheimer returned to the same theme when warning about attempts to co-opt party machinery, describing an active effort to force a radical agenda onto a broader coalition. He accused socialists of trying to “scream and yell and try to …hijack [the party] and shove their ideas in and use it as a vessel.” For him, defending institutional boundaries is part of keeping the party electable and focused on practical governance.
Despite the heat, Gottheimer made clear he plans to stick with his party and fight inside it rather than depart. Political realignments have happened before in the region, with one New Jersey congressman switching parties in a prior term, but Gottheimer emphasized his intent to resist a takeover rather than abandon the institution he represents. His district spans liberal suburbs and conservative rural areas, which he said makes moderation essential to winning and governing.
