During a Zoom endorsement hearing with The Oak Leaf, Rep. Jared Huffman of California’s 2nd District called President Trump an authoritarian leader and instilled the notion that if he wins, it’s because the election will be in some form stolen from former Vice President Biden.

Rep. Huffman is no stranger to fear mongering during this election cycle, encouraging the students to believe that our democracy is currently in peril. 

Rep. Huffman alluded to losing America’s democracy to far-right ideologies such as authoritarianism and fascism when he told the student journalists, “Enjoy your advocacy against imperialism when Donald Trump consolidates his authority and becomes, you know, your next dictator. I mean, it is not going to be pretty.”

He continued, “Let’s go after Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, and let’s hold them to super high standards, but let’s do it while we have a democracy, and while we have a rule of law.” 

No matter how much one party or politician strives to push such harmful narratives, Americans must trust that we are and always have been a nation built upon checks and balances as established by the U.S. Constitution. 

Politicians disregard this notion when encouraging harmful misrepresentations that push their agendas. A total regime change of the U.S. government is not likely after 244 years of an established existence. Rep. Huffman is well aware of this, but he would rather induce fright into the hearts of the American people in order to aid in a presidential win for Democrats in November.  

When asked what he would say to those on the center of the political spectrum who may have more concern towards far-left communism and anarchism in America, Huffman responded, “Well, the anarchism is not a real thing. I mean, this is a construct of right-wing media and of, you know, Trump, that somehow Antifa is like this really widespread powerful thing. It’s not.”

Congressman Huffman, despite reported accounts of Antifa’s existence in America and around the world, went as far as saying that they do not exist, “In fact, you can’t even really find any actual human being that is Antifa.”  

President Trump has received his fourth Nobel Peace Prize nomination this month for his endeavors in negotiating peace abroad and in encouraging law and order domestically. He holds an entirely different view on Antifa. Not only does he fervently acknowledge their existence, but he believes they are an imminent threat to our nation.

Antifa’s tactics stand by the forcible suppression of opposition, and it is notorious for inciting violence at peaceful protests. In July 2019, Trump introduced a resolution to the Senate calling for groups identifying as Antifa to be designated as domestic terrorist organizations. 

During a time of civil unrest, Rep. Huffman denounced the worries among the political right. He said, “I don’t think there’s a valid basis for being afraid that the United States is about to slip into either anarchy or that we’re somehow on the verge of being communist or socialist. There’s a fundamental misunderstanding, I think, of what those terms even mean on the right.”

I could argue that the U.S. is already slipped into a level of anarchy. The devastating shootings that led to looting and rioting in cities across America forced citizens who lived in downtown areas into lockdown and curfew, left with only mobile phones and televisions to discover that their neighborhoods were set ablaze. With the police spread out thin during this chaos, many were left to their own devices when defending themselves or their property.

Huffman continued, “It’s just not a real thing. We’re not on the verge of socialism or communism and certainly not anarchy or nihilism.”

Huffman is mistaken. Urging people that socialism is not a threat to our democracy when some of Huffman’s colleagues are pushing socialist principles is not very convincing. The DNC openly discussed socialist ideas during the primary democratic debates, where Democratic colleagues such as Bernie Sanders and AOC advocated for a Green New Deal and others for universal basic income. 

The 2020 preamble to the Democratic Party platform also advocates for universal healthcare and universal education. 

In regard to communism, perhaps Republicans see similarities of censorship akin to communist suppression of free speech. Many Conservatives continue to share outrage over their voices being perpetually silenced by mainstream media and big tech.

Unfortunately, politicians like Rep. Huffman will continue to push false narratives in order to suppress their opposition. I only ask that more people think critically before accepting claims that lack any substantial merit.