Headline Roundup • July 13th, 2026
What to Make of DSA's Rise and Revisions
Summary from the AllSides News Team
The Democratic Socialists of America Party (DSA) plans to launch its new program on Tuesday, amid its rise ahead of midterm elections. The program reportedly calls for unrestricted migration and noncitizen voting, elimination of the US Senate, and defunding of the Department of War.
RELATED: What Does the Rise of Socialist Candidates Mean for the Democratic Party? | AllSides
'The Moment Has Passed': Megan McArdle (Center bias) framed the rise of socialism as impractical in an opinion for The Washington Post (Lean Left). She wrote, "Operationally, the differences between old-style socialism, democratic socialism and social democracy are pretty much moot in modern America. If there was ever a moment when any of those systems could have worked here, that moment has passed." McArdle said that while traditional socialism is not as separate from the DSA as it may seem, "There's little appetite outside of progressive primary voters for radical change, or the taxes to pay for it."
'A Natural Offspring Of The Modern Democrat Party': Tom Del Beccaro (not rated) inferred, "Despite the 'shock' of some Democrats, the DSA is a natural offspring of the modern Democrat Party," due to stances such as open borders and defund the police. In an opinion for TownHall (Right), he wrote, "As the 2026 Midterms approach, there is no moderation in sight for the DSA or the Democrats."
DSA x Donald Trump: Sara PequenΜo (not rated) offered an alternative perspective in an opinion for USA Today (Lean Left). "Everything Trump is doing sounds like it would fit into a Democratic Socialists of America pamphlet on how to make socialism work in the United States," she wrote. PequenΜo highlighted the "Freedom Fuel Network" that Trump launched last week to incentivize affordable pricing across the country. "It seems like the kind of thing New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani would support β not Trump." Both Trump Accounts and TrumpRx were among PequenΜo's honorable mentions. However, she asserted that Trump is not really a socialist and "only cares about how it will make him appear to his base."
RELATED: 'Trump Accounts' Officially Launch; Gain Early Bipartisan Support | AllSides
'Destruction' On Both Sides: Harlan Ullman (not rated) labeled both the DSA and MAGA movements as synonymously destructive in nature in an opinion for The Hill (Center). Ullman said Trump "weaponized" populism in his MAGA campaign as a means to justify saturated executive authority. "The government had become destructive in this view, leading to endless wars that sapped the nation of blood and treasure." She criticized, "Trump is the most powerful president certainly in his lifetime and arguably since the Constitution came into force in 1789β¦ [However] as MAGA rebelled against a destructive government that was not working, the Democratic Socialists are doing the same but for different reasons."
For Context: DSA's current platform includes the following:
- On Community: establishing Medicare, college and housing for all, and ending the war on drugs, mass incarceration and police brutality
- On Economy: taxing the rich, bolstering unions, establishing a 32-hour work week, and implementing the Green New Deal
- On Foreign Policy: "freeing" Palestine, ending US-promoted wars and "economic warfare," and opening borders
- On Democracy: establishing universal suffrage and a popular vote for president, reducing Supreme Court power, and reforming Congress
Written by the AllSides staff (of humans). Learn more. Support our mission. Suggest an improvement to this summary.
Featured Coverage of this Story
AP Photo/Ryan Murphy
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