As new polling showed Democrats view socialism more positively than capitalism, U.S. Sen. John Fetterman sounded the alarm, calling the results "lunacy."
On Aug. 16, the Pennsylvania Democrat posted on X, sharing a screenshot of an article that included new poll results from CBS News. The poll showed that socialism was more favored than capitalism among Democratic respondents.
"The Democratic Party is becoming the party of socialism," Fetterman said. "I'm a proud free market capitalist. This is lunacy."
New poll says Democrats have more positive view of socialism than capitalism
Democrats polled by CBS News had a more favorable view of socialism than they did of capitalism. Out of 648 Democratic respondents, 58% had a positive view of socialism, while 18% had a negative view of it, and 24% had no opinion. When asked about
capitalism, 32% of 647 Democratic respondents had a positive view of it, while 50% viewed it negatively, and 18% had no opinion.
Among those polled, Democrats with college degrees, younger Democrats and white Democrats tended to have more favorable views of socialism, according to CBS News.
Overall, 35% of the more than 2,280 Americans polled across party lines said they viewed socialism positively, while 46% had a positive view of capitalism. 42% said they viewed socialism negatively, while 43% had a negative view of capitalism. 23% of respondents had no opinion on socialism, and 20% had no opinion on capitalism.
Is Fetterman a capitalist? What are Fetterman's views on socialism?
The Aug. 16 post to X wasn't the first time Fetterman has expressed his support for capitalism.
During a May 13 podcast appearance on "The Reason Interview with Nick Gillespie," Fetterman praised capitalism in the United States.
"I'm a very pro-capitalist Democrat that I refuse to engage in the extreme rhetoric and the kinds of behavior and support the kinds of extremism and throw around those stupid terms like 'end-stage capitalism,'" Fetterman said. "Without a doubt in human history, capitalism has been the only system that has proven to raise the life, the quality of life across the globe. That's a fact. And now thankfully we were able to prevail here in our nation."
Fetterman has also sounded off on his distaste for socialism in the past repeatedly.
During a May 1 appearance on Fox News, Fetterman and host Jesse Watters discussed communism and socialism amid May Day protests around the country, with Fetterman bringing up concerns about a "communist takeover" in Maine with then-Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate Graham Platner.
"It's like a marriage of the Palestinian, the anti-ICE, the abolish ICE, and now turning it into like an orgy of socialism," he said.
Previously, in September 2025, he spoke to Forbes about Gallup polling that showed the majority of Democratic respondents viewed socialism favorably, recalling a trip to Croatia.
"I literally was in a former communist nation, and I asked that, I said, 'Some people in my party, some of the Lefties are talking about socialism now. What do you think?'" Fetterman said, adding that people in Croatia were "mystified" about why some Americans were interested in socialism. "(The person I was speaking to was) like, 'That's the worst thing ever. ... You're going to need a reality check if you ever adopt any of those things, you know, like you are morons."
Finch Walker is the Pittsburgh Connect Reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Contact Walker at FWalker@usatodayco.com. Instagram: @finchwalker_. X: @_finchwalker.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fetterman calls Dems 'the party of socialism' after new polling
