Trump revives old tropes as he pushes warnings of 'communist menace'

Perhaps above all else, Donald Trump is a child of the cold war. ... In a series of high-profile addresses, Trump has identified an ideology that millions of Americans are too young to recall as the US's biggest threat. "A generation after we fought and won the cold war against the menace of communism, there is now a resurgence of the communist menace in our land, including from newcomers to our country who embrace ideas totally opposed to our way of life and our great success," he said in a speech at Mount Rushmore on 3 July. ... Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Democratic representative for New York and a member of the DSA, called the communist label "very silly". ... Cara Tobe, a spokesperson for the DSA — asked whether the association's membership included communists — said: "Our organization's dues-paying members range in political beliefs, but we are all united under the banner of democratic socialism. ..." Yet some commentators say Trump's charge is not baseless. "The communist issue is not entirely a bugaboo," said Klehr, who said the DSA had a "very significant communist component". ... "The DSA has changed, and a significant number of people who unapologetically call themselves Marxist-Leninists or communists have moved into DSA and attained some significant positions," said Klehr.