The Republican National Committee (RNC) has warned that socialists are driving the Democratic Party toward political disaster, citing comments made by the co-chair of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). Natalie Baldassarre, RNC national spokesperson, stated that socialists are guiding Democrats blindly.

"The Democrat Party is being driven off a cliff by socialists who are driving blindfolded while arguing about the view," Baldassarre said in a statement. "Unless Democrats hit the brakes, every candidate on the ballot will have to answer for socialists’ outrageous beliefs that will bankrupt our country and strip every American of safety, sanity, and freedom."

Her remarks followed an interview on "The New Yorker Radio Hour" where DSA co-chair Megan Romer was pressed by editor David Remnick about the group's proposed tax policies on millionaires. Romer acknowledged that she did not have a specific tax rate or income threshold readily available when asked to define the policy.

"I think most billionaires got their wealth because they exploited the working class in some very significant way usually," Romer stated during the interview. "Are we exploiting people is the bigger question, as opposed to some sort of arbitrary red line of you can have this much money or not have that much money. But we do believe in taxing the hell out of millionaires, yeah, absolutely."

When Remnick pressed Romer for specifics, she responded, "Yeah, you know, again, I don’t have, like, a solid – " before being interrupted. Remnick questioned, "But shouldn’t you? If you’re the co-chair of the DSA, shouldn’t you be more specific than ‘taxing the hell’ out of something?"

Romer indicated that the DSA would determine its tax policies by examining spending priorities and the revenue required to support them. The DSA's official 2026 program, developed from its 2025 national convention, calls to "Enact aggressive wealth taxes on the richest individuals and corporations to spend on public goods and infrastructure," but does not specify rates or definitions.

The RNC's warning comes amid recent primary victories for DSA-backed and progressive candidates. In Colorado, Melat Kiros defeated Rep. Diana DeGette, and in New York, Darializa Avila Chevalier ousted Rep. Adriano Espaillat, while Claire Valdez secured a nomination for an open congressional seat. Separately, Abdul El-Sayed narrowly defeated an establishment-backed candidate in Michigan's Democratic Senate primary.

During the interview, Romer distinguished some progressive candidates from the DSA, noting that Abdul El-Sayed identifies as a capitalist and is not a DSA candidate.

The centrist Democratic organization Third Way announced plans to spend $15 million through 2028 on research, polling, social media, and outreach to counter the DSA's influence. Matt Bennett, co-founder of Third Way, described the DSA's ideas as dangerous and its politics as toxic, stating that the party cannot afford to be defined by radicals if it aims to defeat Republican opponents.

Romer dismissed Third Way's planned campaign, saying in a previous statement, "$15 million to tell working-class people that a better world isn’t possible? We believe in people power, and our vision for a better future is winning. We will keep building our movement, and they will waste their money."