Young Progressives and Socialism in America: From TikTok to the Ballot Box

Young progressives and socialism in America are becoming a political force, and not because they’ve done the homework. They’re falling for it the same way they fall for TikTok trends, fast, loud, and without a clue how any of it actually works.

Just look at the recent Voters of Tomorrow summit in Washington, where college-aged activists fawned over Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Zohran Mamdani like they were the second coming of Marx and Engels.

The crowd may have been small, but with social media, it doesn’t matter. Their message travels faster than facts.

From the Back of the Room to the Top of the Feed

At the Voters of Tomorrow Summit in Washington, young progressive activists told Fox News they see Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) and Zohran Mamdani as the future of the Democratic Party. While they praised the pair’s socialist agenda, they also called for more clarity on certain issues, particularly the conflict in Gaza.

The “Fighting for Our Future” event on Friday, July 25, featured more than 200 youth organizers, leaders and progressive politicians, like Rep. Ro Khanna of California and former DNC vice chair David Hogg. As the progressive wing of the party looks to new leadership, one attendee urged Ocasio-Cortez to get louder about Gaza. – Fox News

Sure, the Fighting for Our Future event only had about 200 people, but with social media, it might as well have been 200 million. These aren’t just college kids blowing off steam. With viral clips and politicians like Ro Khanna and David Hogg on stage, their message spreads fast. When one attendee asked AOC to speak up about Gaza, it wasn’t just a comment, it was content. These kids know how to package a moment. And the progressive wing isn’t just organizing anymore. They’re uploading.

From Tie-Dye to TikTok: The Socialist Pipeline

And it’s not just fringe Gen Z activists boosting this socialist surge. Congressman Ro Khanna, a sitting member of Congress, is now floating the idea that the U.S. should recognize Palestine as a state. That’s not some kid filming hot takes in their bedroom. That’s a sitting Democrat pushing the same foreign policy demands as the growing activist fringe of the AOC-Mamdani wing.

I asked citizens in a packed town hall in my district how they felt about my leading the call for the United States to officially recognize a Palestinian state. Watch their response. pic.twitter.com/VjirdrjK5J

— Rep. Ro Khanna (@RepRoKhanna) August 3, 2025

It’s not just about appeasing radical campus activists. You ask a few aging hippies at your local co-op, and they’ll nod right along. This isn’t a passing trend. It’s a generational echo, now rebranded and repackaged for social media. And with bigger names in Congress lending their platforms, the socialist base is no longer operating on the fringe. It’s gaining institutional power.

What the Future of the Democratic Party Actually Sounds Like

Just to set the mood further, here are a couple of excerpts from the Fox News article that got this whole thing rolling for me.

“I really like AOC,” Reihena Djema, an attendee from Ohio, told Fox News Digital. “Unfortunately, I would like to see her stand and be more vocal about Palestine. But other than that, I really think that she should be the leader of the Democratic Party as she is a Democratic socialist.”

[…]

“I think that more politicians should be adopting socialism,” Djema said. “I think it’s really important to be class-conscious, and remove ourselves from this neo-liberal idea of it’s okay to, like, do capitalism and exploit workers, and I think the Democratic Party should be the party for workers and look more towards socialism.”

[…]

“I think that she should be more vocal about what’s happening in Gaza, specifically condemning Israel for their genocide, and standing out on that,” Djema said, while adding she thinks Ocasio-Cortez is “great.”

[…]

“I think candidates like Zohran Mamdani and AOC are really inspiring to see. Someone like Mamdani, a Muslim like me, and Zainab here, it’s so inspiring to see. I think that someone like that in 2028 can carry a lot of momentum. I think people are so excited,” Ayan Molodina, a high school sophomore from Austin, Texas, told Fox News Digital.

Molodina said people in Texas are “fired up” about Mamdani, adding, “I think that’s proof right there that people are ready for change, and I think that he brings that fresh perspective that people are looking for.”

Deon Tran, a young voter from California, admitted that, “Yes, sometimes, a lot of these policies seem out there. They haven’t been tried before.” – Fox News

That last sentence there from Deon Tran, the young voter in California, my goodness gracious.

These are the voices shaping the next generation of voters who were raised on viral videos, fed a steady diet of grievance studies, and now lining up to cheer for government grocery stores and rent freezes like it’s a music festival.

This Isn’t Cute. It’s Dangerous.

You know who else ran on government giveaways and class warfare? Hugo Chávez. And now Venezuela is a cautionary tale for every nation with a halfway-functioning brain. The country went from rich to ruin in under two decades. Food shortages, rolling blackouts, a collapsing currency, and millions fleeing the country. But you won’t hear that in a TikTok breakdown of “Why Capitalism is Bad.”

Cuba? Same story. Sixty years of socialism and people are still using ration books to get rice. Zimbabwe? They chased out landowners, tried price controls, and wrecked their own economy. Basic goods vanished. Inflation hit the stratosphere. People starved while their leaders got rich. But sure, let’s give it another try, because AOC makes it sound fun on Instagram.

It’s easy to laugh until you realize they’re gaining ground.

Welcome to the Era of Vibes Over Reality

These kids think socialism is fresh and exciting because no one ever taught them what it actually led to. Instead of learning about gulags and breadlines, they got lectures on pronouns and privilege. History was replaced with activism, and now we’re watching the consequences play out one clueless soundbite at a time.

Do you think any of these youthful dreamers are reading actual policy? They watch quick-cut clips with sad music and a stat and call it analysis. Mamdani brings youth and trendiness with thin experience. AOC wrote the playbook. They sell vibes, not solutions. Want a preview of that future? Look at San Francisco and Portland. Budgets lose to feelings, crime rises, taxes climb, and businesses leave. Ideology replaces reality.

AOC and Mamdani aren’t the future. They’re the warning label. We’ve got a generation raised on outrage clips and classroom slogans, convinced socialism is the fix for problems they barely understand. They’re loud, confident, and completely in over their heads.

Feature Image: original Victory Girls art by Darleen Click

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