The Communist Party USA has claimed a significant rise in membership, particularly among younger Americans, over the past decade, despite the unpopularity of communism among the vast majority of Americans.
| PULSE POINTS |
❓ WHAT HAPPENED: The Communist Party USA (CPUSA) has reported a surge in membership over the past decade. 📺 DETAIL: The CPUSA claims to have recruited 20,000 members since 2016, coinciding with events such as Bernie Sanders’ presidential campaigns and the election of President Donald J. Trump. In an interview posted to the party’s YouTube channel, CPUSA Co-Chair Joe Sims attributed the growth to younger members who are more willing to publicly identify as communists. “We’ve always seen the young generation as the spark of the revolutionary movement, and that’s where the energy comes from. That’s where the motion is. We celebrate that and we want to encourage it,” said Sims. Despite this reported growth, communism remains largely unpopular among Americans. According to a poll commissioned by The Economist and conducted by YouGov, 18 percent of Americans view communists as a major threat. The poll also revealed that 25 percent view communism as a moderate threat, and 23 percent view it as a minor threat. 🎯 IMPACT: The reported rise in CPUSA membership signals a growing openness to communist ideology and far-left politics more broadly, especially among younger Americans. This reflects similar findings published throughout the year. For example, earlier this month, it was revealed that only 30 percent of New Yorkers support the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), a far-left political organization operating within the Democratic Party. However, younger Americans living in urban areas, such as New York City, have a noticeably more favorable view of the DSA than older Americans and Americans living in rural and suburban areas. The month prior, another poll revealed that one in three Democrats and Democrat-aligned voters call themselves Democratic Socialists. These findings show that although far-left ideology is widely unpopular with the American electorate, it has a discernible, concentrated, and active support base, potentially capable of influencing election outcomes and politics generally. |
Communist Party USA interviewer: “We have a lot of new people to the movement joining. Young people joining and they’re coming in with little experience.”
pic.twitter.com/RE9qplVRXa— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) August 23, 2026
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