Socialism's American Comeback Might Have an Unlikely Leader: Donald Trump

As the establishment wing of the Democratic Party wrestles with whether to embrace the progressive principles that have been unabashedly championed-with success-by some of its rising stars, another figure may be emerging as the surprising face of the country's socialist resurgence.

President Donald Trump and his allies have spent the past few weeks railing against the specters of "communism" and "socialism" that, they say, present as great a threat today as during any other time in U.S. history.

Trump warned of a “resurgence of the communist menace in our land” during his address at Mount Rushmore on July 3, and followed with a July 4 warning on the National Mall-that communism must be stopped “before it begins” and is “a cancer” that must be “cut out fast.”

Many have argued, however, that Trump is embracing policies-from state control over the means of production to government intervention in private industry-that could be associated with the "menace" about which he is now fretting. For his critics, the contradiction is becoming harder to ignore. The president who casts socialism as an existential threat has repeatedly embraced policies that place Washington’s thumb on the scale-guiding investments and shaping corporate decisions.

The administration has obtained direct stakes in nearly two dozen companies since Trump's return to office in January 2025, according to the conservative-leaning Cato Institute, including chipmakers and rare-earth companies, as well as a "golden share" in U.S. Steel, which grants the president veto authority over key corporate decisions. That was followed by a government-celebrated effort to artificially lower the price of gas.

‘Freedom Fuel Network'

On Tuesday, the White House took to X to announce the launch of "Freedom Fuel," a 25-strong network of gas stations across Pennsylvania and New Jersey that were selling gasoline at a discounted rate of $3.47 per gallon “for our 47th President."

"President Trump is leading the charge to lower gas prices this summer – putting more money in your pocket," the post read, along with a video of people visiting a station and thanking the president for lowering their pump costs.

Days earlier, Trump had posted a photo of a "Freedom Fuel Network" station on Truth Social-bearing the hallmarks of an AI-generated image-and wrote that a "VERY smart Retailer" would be "lowering gas prices at 25 ‘FREEDOM FUEL' Stations across the Greater Philadelphia Area."

This came only days after Trump ordered a Justice Department probe into U.S. oil companies over alleged price gouging, and after he threatened "big problems" for gas station owners who failed to "get their Prices down, IMMEDIATELY!"

And the administration's promotion of these newly branded stations prompted criticism that Trump had strayed from his anti-socialist ideology and was now in favor of government-imposed price controls.

“You raise prices, then pretend when they go down you're some savior," former Republican Representative Adam Kinzinger posted on X. "Besides, all your supporters spent the last half [the] year telling us presidents don't control gas prices?”

The White House said that the government was not officially involved in subsidizing or running the Freedom Fuel Network stations.

"The Administration is not involved in the company, nor has the Administration given the company any funding," a spokesperson told Newsweek on Thursday. "There is no other entity or person subsidizing the lower gasoline costs."

The White House added that the company-the recently incorporated Freedom Fuel Network LLC-was simply "reducing their margin to make prices at the pump more affordable for drivers in Philadelphia and New Jersey,” and that other retailers should follow its lead.

But because the $3.47-per-gallon price was roughly 50 cents below Pennsylvania’s statewide average when the White House made the announcement, some have questioned how Freedom Fuel stations can sell gasoline without subsidies and without incurring a substantial loss.

“Stations selling at this price, it’s not sustainable," GasBuddy’s head of petroleum analysis, Patrick De Haan, told Quartz, adding that "generally, when losses happen, somebody’s got to pay for it."

Newsweek has contacted Freedom Fuel Network for comment. The lawyer listed on its trademark application, which was filed on July 1, declined to comment.

Trump's Progressive Pivot

The White House denied any official involvement with Freedom Fuel, though its promotion of the initiative appeared to reinforce criticism from some of Trump's critics, who argue that his public disavowal of socialism sits uneasily with his support for some of its guiding principles.

"Government-subsidized grocery stores = Communism. Government run gas stations = Freedom. Got it," Democratic Representative Jim McGovern of Massachusetts wrote on X.

Beyond gas stations, the push for expanded government interests in private corporations-like Intel-has emerged as a criticism from some anti-socialist Republicans.

“If socialism is government owning the means of production, wouldn’t the government owning part of Intel be a step toward socialism?" Kentucky Senator Rand Paul said ahead of the government securing a 10 percent stake in the chipmaker.

The free market-oriented Reason magazine argued in January that Trump's push for government stakes in companies like Intel appeared "lifted-maybe deliberately, maybe not-from the playbook of America’s most prominent democratic socialist, Senator Bernie Sanders."

And Trump found some ideological common ground with Sanders when attempting to prevent large corporations from buying up single-family homes earlier this year-an idea long championed by Sanders.

Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Daniel Orton and Dave Siminoff.

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This story was originally published July 10, 2026 at 5:00 AM.