Ted Cruz blasts Joel Webbon for saying MAGA should ’embrace socialism’

When it comes to socialism, I always have at the ready a one-word response: No. No today, no tomorrow, no forever.

Socialism is an ideology of impoverishment and authoritarianism. It is anti-progress, it is anti-human, it is anti-civilization. It always fails, every time some misguided group of ideologues gives it another try. Watch the experiment unfold: For instance, split Korea in half, have one side be capitalist and one side be socialist, and see what happens. You have South Korea, where humans flourish, and North Korea, a repressive hellscape with one of the worst human rights records in the world.

In the U.S., for the most part it is the Democratic Party trying to resurrect this failed ideology. Look no further than the Democratic Socialists of America, a faction of the Democratic Party that is currently winning: DSA-backed candidates are beating moderates in Democratic primaries all over the country. These people run on a deeply radical platform: Abolish borders and prisons, overthrow capitalism, replace the Constitution. Scary stuff.

But unfortunately, the Democrats are not quite alone in their plan to make socialism cool again. Some dissident elements of the far-right are also embracing socialism, as I live and breathe.

Look no further than Joel Webbon, a far-right pastor and Christian nationalist who has gained a following on X. Webbon has all sorts of criticisms of the Trump administration, which is perfectly fine, but because he is a strange and confused person, he is now urging Republicans to embrace socialism. Take a look.

Other conservative leaders condemned this strategy, and are right to do so. Texas Sen. Ted Cruz wrote on X :

“No principled conservative can support the woke right. Nor can any principled libertarian. Racist socialists belong with the Democrats. If you agree with the socialists taking over the Democrat party…then you are not a Republican, not America First & not a conservative.”

Laura Loomer denounced Webbon a s a closet leftist and Corey Walker pointed out, “If both parties succumb to socialism, then the country is basically over and all the founders’ nightmares have finally become reality.”

Webbon responded over and over again to critics on X, saying that the issue is: Democrats promise benefits, financial payouts to their voters, whereas Republicans don’t — and the GOP will lose unless it offers something tangible to voters, i.e. socialism.

The answer to that is obvious: Republicans shouldn’t promise to redistribute from one group to their group, but rather, should end the government’s practice of robbing people. Lower their taxes, end punitive regulations on the businesses they work for, abolish practices by the EPA, the IRS, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Transportation, Education, HHS, and Housing that all make life more expensive for Americans. We don’t need-rightwing socialism. We need good old-fashioned right-wing “leave everybody alone-ism.”

That’s what President Trump should be promising all Americans — not just his voters, but everybody. Unfortunately, so far, the administration has not really succeeded at the task of letting the American people keep more of their own money.

The DOGE effort fizzled, and the administration hasn’t even tried to grapple with our government’s major expenditure, Medicare. That’s the major way in which we are unfortunately a socialist system: We redistribute massive amounts of money from young people to older, disproportionately wealthy people. That system is broken — it doesn’t work for new families, for first-time homebuyers, for people just graduating and looking for work. That’s what Trump should concentrate on fixing. Not doubling down and making the right even more socialist.

If the GOP listens to this advice, it will betray its principles and the country. Socialism is a dangerous movement; it is a poison that ruins everything it touches. There can be no alliance with authoritarianism, no compromises with economic sophistry. Make government smaller, let people keep more of what they earn, and let markets improve the well-being of those who are willing and able to work. Capitalism, not socialism. Never, ever socialism.

Robby Soave is co-host of The Hill’s commentary show “Rising” and a senior editor for Reason Magazine. This column is an edited transcription of his daily commentary.