A House Democrat just drew a hard line in the sand against the socialists trying to infiltrate his party.
Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., a leader of the moderate Blue Dog Coalition and member of the House Intelligence Committee, told Fox News on Sunday that the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) are “not Democrats” and should start their own party instead of trying to hijack the Democratic Party as a vessel for communism.
“Obviously, I’m a very proud, commonsense Democrat, and I don’t think DSA members are Democrats. They’re socialists, right?” Gottheimer said on “The Big Weekend Show.”
“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.”
Gottheimer didn’t hold back on what the DSA actually stands for.
“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,” he said. “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.”
The New Jersey congressman was referencing clips from the DSA’s Chicago convention, where members openly called for getting “ICE off our campuses” and defended their platform as the “most American thing you can do.”
One DSA National Political Committee member even compared socialism to “the same kind of stuff that I am used to [in] growing up in the Christian Church.”
Gottheimer pointed out the numbers don’t lie: 45 million voters are registered Democrats, compared with only 150,000 official DSA members.
“They’re not welcome in the Democratic Party,” he said flatly.
He pushed back against Democrats like Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., who have expressed openness to DSA-aligned candidates. Khanna said Democrats should not have “watched wealth pile up on Wall Street and Silicon Valley” at the expense of working-class Americans, adding that “the Democratic Party needs reform.”
Gottheimer countered that fringe coalitions are mounting insurgencies in both parties and “trying to barge in” with incompatible ideas.
He also pointed to longtime Clinton confidant James Carville, who told Fox News he would disown the Democratic Party if left-wing streamer Hasan Piker were permitted to become one of its leaders.
When asked if he would leave the party over Piker or if Democratic leaders embraced socialists, Gottheimer made it clear where House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries stands.
“[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 socialists can “scream and yell and try to hijack [the party] and shove their ideas in and use it as a vessel,” but Democrats have to make clear “that’s not who we are.”
While Gottheimer reiterated he does not plan to leave the Democratic Party any time soon, former U.S. Marine Corps bomb technician Johnny Joey Jones noted that one prominent New Jersey Democrat already has.
Rep. Jeff Van Drew, whose district includes Cape May, switched parties during President Donald Trump’s first term, embracing Trump’s platform and angering South Jersey Democratic committees.
“You wouldn’t be the first New Jersey congressman to find a better party. I’m just saying leave the door open if you want to,” Jones said.
Gottheimer’s district includes liberal New York City suburbs immediately west of the George Washington Bridge and the deep-red, Trump-friendly Skylands near the Delaware Water Gap, making it one of the most politically diverse districts in New Jersey’s congressional delegation.
Fox News Digital reached out to the DSA and Piker for comment.
