On Friday’s broadcast of CNN’s “Laura Coates Live,” Colorado Gov. Jared Polis (D) stated that “socialism is a tool to further exploit people. By putting the government and the power of the economy together, you’re preventing that counterbalance that government can provide against a runaway private sector.” And “socialism is a lot of what President Trump has been doing” by having the government buy shares of company.

Polis began by saying, “I can certainly talk about how socialism is a ticket to nowhere. Frankly, socialism is a lot of what President Trump has been doing, quite literally, buying 15% of Intel, having the Department of Defense buy 10% of a company called MP Materials, government ownership of the economy. Here’s what’s wrong with that, Laura, two things: Number one, it sets the government up as a player and referee. How can the government regulate the private sector to ensure competition and prevent monopolies if they’re actually an owner of companies in the private sector and have a vested interest? Number two, I’m a Democrat, I’m a progressive. I want universal healthcare, I want a strong social safety net. The only way to do that is to have the prosperity that a capitalist economy creates. No socialist country has ever had a successful economy. Every country in Europe is a market economy, capitalist economy. You have to be, actually, to join the E.U., it’s in their bylaws, you have to have a market economy. They all have universal healthcare. That’s the model we need, capitalism and prosperity, not socialism and poverty.”

Host Laura Coates then asked, “And yet, Governor, there are many who would look at Democratic socialism and say it’s not that they are opposed to money or an economy, it’s the exploitation, and to the benefit of those who are in power and remain elite. The idea of socialism is gaining popularity among Democrats. In one poll, 55% of Democrats said it would be good for the U.S. to move towards socialism. I see the points that you’re raising and I’ve heard others echo it in their concern. So, if you feel their positions are so out of step or in the wrong direction, why do you think some of these candidates are resonating with voters from the Democratic Party?”

Polis answered, “Look, socialism is a tool to further exploit people. By putting the government and the power of the economy together, you’re preventing that counterbalance that government can provide against a runaway private sector. Look, I am frustrated, too. We’ve, as a party, Democrats, obviously, Republicans, have not been successful in delivering on basic promises, like universal healthcare. I think we should have universal childcare. We made a big step towards that in Colorado with free, universal preschool. The way to do that is for prosperity to exist and to have a successful economy where you could actually fund these important, life-saving priorities for people. And that’s why Democrats, historically, and the future of the Democratic Party, is a capitalist party, in opposition to the socialist Republican Party, which is buying up shares in companies and co-opting the private sector and empowering President Trump and the federal government to control our lives.”

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