Mixed Bag: CBS Journos Downplay Rise of Socialism, Guest Calls Out RADICAL Views

Curtis Houck
June 25th, 2026 5:41 PM

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While it deserves credit for returning to the issue and not letting it go after a single day covering New York’s primary results, Thursday’s CBS Mornings tried to have it both ways in covering the explosion of “democratic socialism” by dismissing it as a growing but still nascent movement focused on housing, jobs, and taxes while also acknowledging it’s fixation on Jews and calls by some candidates to abolish borders, police, and prisons.

It began with a news package from White House and elections correspondent Ed O’Keefe, which sanitized the socialism platform as it wasn’t until over 90 seconds into the seven-minute-long segment before he attempted to articulate what these radical leftists believe.

Eventually, O’Keefe did elaborate, marking their ideas seem mainstream: “They broadly support universal health care and greater housing affordability...less restrictive immigration controls....more environmental protections, reduced U.S. military budgets, and support ending military and economic aid to Israel.”

Before this, featured co-host Vladimir Duthiers set the table by promising “a deeper dive into what appears to be rising support for democratic socialism in this country” and its “platform” with socialist New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s candidates going three-for-three in House races.

O’Keefe started by declaring the “more recent revival” of “democratic socialism...is often linked to Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who framed it” in 2015 as believing in “reform” of “a political system which is corrupt, that we must create an economy that works for all, not just the very wealthy.”

He then name-dropped the rising number of socialist candidates and elected officials (Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez plus candidates Darializa Avila Chevalier, Janeese Lewis George, Nithya Ramen, and Claire Valdez), but left out one of Mamdani’s New York victors (Brad Lander) and other elected socialists in cities like Seattle.

Only then did he dive into his half-baked description of what “democratic socialists” believe.

This segued into his closing soundbite of Ocasio-Cortez from last October, arguing it’s not “a radical act” to demand accountability for those “flattening...Palestinians.”

Thankfully, someone actually willing to put this extreme ideology on blast arrived on the scene. Enter Manhattan Institute President and Free Press contributor Reihan Salam.

Duthiers prefaced the discussion by stating the top issues for these socialists include “stronger tenant protections, more publicly built housing, higher taxes on top earners, expanded childcare, expanded public transportation.” Of course, he left out the hatred for Israel and Jews.

“Why do you think that the DSA platform keeps resonating? I mean, Bernie Sanders got millions of votes when he was running for president,” he asked.

Salam started with a reality check for Duthiers that “every establishment Democrat who was defeated agreed on the substance of those issues.” He said the difference was in the fact that socialists have “a ton of youth, a ton of energy” with “organizational prowess” to win with “more breathtakingly extreme views.”

Duthiers stopped him to ask he elaborate.

Sure enough, Salam did with points conservatives should be thrilled were heard on network TV, including the Democratic Socialist in America’s (DSA) belief in abolishing prisons and borders, and Chevalier’s declaration that no one should be deported, no matter how heinous their crime(s) (click “expand”):

Well, for example, if you’re looking at foreign policy, these are folks who believe in the abolition of borders. They believe in prison abolition. When you’re pressing these candidates, for example, Darializa Avila Chevalier, when you really press her on these issues, she said that, hey, I said a lot of radical things back in 2020, but I talk about things differently now. But when pressed by local journalists, do you believe that anyone ought to go to prison? Is there anyone at all who should be deported?

This is someone who is very forthright and saying, no, I really take a firm stance against borders. I take a firm stance against what she sees as U.S. imperialism and against our allies. She took a firm stance against backing Ukraine in its struggle for survival against Russia. That is a very different view for most mainstream Democrats.

Co-host, New York elitist, and Democratic donor Gayle King interrupted to demand he “concentrate on the election that just happened” and use Tuesday’s (low) turnout as proof of the group’s size.

In there, he also warned that, even if not all Democratic voters agree with the DSA’s positions, they’d still support them if given a binary choice in a general election because of the “resistance energy” to stop Trump.

Duthiers challenged Salam again by boasting the latest band of socialists wants to achieve their goals “within a democratic, constitutional system,” claiming “[t]hey’re not advocating for governments based on one-party rule, or a centralized state ownership of the economy, or suppression of political opposition, or even limits on civil liberties.”

“[S]ome of those other things that we talked about, greater public investment, expanded childcare, is that something that could resonate across the country,” he added.

With time running out, Salam made it count and charitably said he “would frame things a little differently” because “[t]he overall mainstream Democratic Party has moved to the left on the welfare state” and widely expressed desire for the country to become more like socialist states in Europe.

“The really distinctive thing that’s going on here,” Salam explained, “is a very tight focus on foreign policy, opposition to AIPAC, an organization that is a pro-Israel organization, and frankly, the demonization of a lot of folks who have these more traditional, more mainstream foreign policy views.”

“The real thing is that energy around so-called U.S. imperialism, backing Cuba, backing the, you know, Maduro government back when it was in power in Venezuela. So, this is a different kind of energy,” he concluded.

To see the relevant CBS transcript from June 25, click here.

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