CNN senior correspondent Donie O’Sullivan joined The Source host Kaitlan Collins on Thursday to promote his new documentary, The Left Insurgency, that will air on Sunday. As part of that documentary, O’Sullivan interviewed far-left influencer Hasan Piker, who is known for being a member of the Mao Zedong fan club, but despite this, O’Sullivan claimed that the “democratic socialists” just want to make America more like Norway.
Collins wondered:
Well, I mean, when we see the popularity, obviously, we see the positions and what those look like. And some of them have, you know, more extreme positions. They want to abolish ICE entirely, Donie. And so, when you look at those positions that moderate Democrats raise concerns about hurting them in the fall. When you talk to some of the biggest progressive podcasters, streamers, one of them is Hasan Piker that you, I know, have interviewed for the documentary on Sunday night. When you talk to them and the concerns that you hear from the more mainstream Democrats, what do they tell you?
After Kaitlan Collins asks him about his interview with Mao fan Hasan Piker, Donie O'Sullivan claims "what we're seeing is many young people view democratic socialism as Norway, and many European countries. They're not thinking of Soviet Russia or something like that." pic.twitter.com/jufZlb9EuM
— Alex Christy (@alexchristy17) July 31, 2026
O’Sullivan replied that they are leftists and not trying to hide it, “They're largely unapologetic. You know, I mean, I think that they view themselves as sort of being in this position of having the upper hand right now. You know, I've heard people, sort of, compare this to the Democratic Party's Tea Party moment in terms of an insurgent group trying to remake the party in its image.”
Hasan Piker has said things such as “I like communism” and “Mao Zedong is one of the great leaders of this world.” That is who O’Sullivan interviewed and who is the man the media has willing put forth as one of the leaders of this socialist movement. Nevertheless, O’Sullivan wanted to claim that the socialist insurgents just want to make America more like Norway:
But really, I mean, I think what you're seeing is, and as Harry alluded to, is that this idea that democratic socialism, particularly the word ‘socialism,’ is scary. It is still scary to a lot of Americans. I mean, there's the connection, you know, people equated with communism back to McCarthyism, everything else. Of course, what we're seeing is many young people view democratic socialism as Norway, and many European countries. They're not thinking of Soviet Russia or something like that. But of course, the key question is going to be how will all that actually play out in a general election, which, of course, is why Michigan is so critical on Tuesday.
O’Sullivan is not the first media person to invoke McCarthyism, but it is simply dishonest to promote a Mao fan and then claim anyone who notices his rise in popularity and endorsements of Democratic primary candidates like Abdul El-Sayed is red-baiting. Especially considering Piker is not an isolated example.
Here is a transcript for the July 30 show:
CNN The Source with Kaitlan Collins
7/30/2026
9:50 PM ET
KAITLAN COLLINS: Well, I mean, when we see the popularity, obviously, we see the positions and what those look like. And some of them have, you know, more extreme positions. They want to abolish ICE entirely, Donie.
And so, when you look at those positions that moderate Democrats raise concerns about hurting them in the fall. When you talk to some of the biggest progressive podcasters, streamers, one of them is Hasan Piker that you, I know, have interviewed for the documentary on Sunday night. When you talk to them and the concerns that you hear from the more mainstream Democrats, what do they tell you?
DONIE O'SULLIVAN: They're largely unapologetic. You know, I mean, I think that they view themselves as sort of being in this position of having the upper hand right now. You know, I've heard people, sort of, compare this to the Democratic Party's Tea Party moment in terms of an insurgent group trying to remake the party in its image.
But really, I mean, I think what you're seeing is, and as Harry alluded to, is that this idea that democratic socialism, particularly the word "socialism," is scary. It is still scary to a lot of Americans. I mean, there's the connection, you know, people equated with communism back to McCarthyism, everything else. Of course, what we're seeing is many young people view democratic socialism as Norway, and many European countries. They're not thinking of Soviet Russia or something like that.But of course, the key question is going to be how will all that actually play out in a general election, which, of course, is why Michigan is so critical on Tuesday.
