Why Trump's War on Socialism Is More Necessary Than Ever

Donald Trump, announcing a major theme of his 2020 campaign, declared war on socialism during his SOTU Tuesday night:

We stand with the Venezuelan people in their noble quest for freedom — and we condemn the brutality of the Maduro regime, whose socialist policies have turned that nation from being the wealthiest in South America into a state of abject poverty and despair. Here in the United States, we are alarmed by new calls to adopt socialism in our country. America was founded on liberty and independence — not government coercion, domination, and control. We are born free, and we will stay free. Tonight, we renew our resolve that America will never be a socialist country.

You would think, given the situation in the aforementioned country, socialism would be in disrepute, but no. In the United States, at least, it appears to be more popular than ever.

Witness the glum expressions on the faces of so many Democrats--nearly all of them--when Trump made his statement.

Bernie Sanders looked as if he had swallowed the bowl along with the goldfish. No doubt he would assure us that socialism can be "democratic." But is that true? Is it just an accident that the three greatest mass murderers of all time -- Hitler (17-10 million), Stalin (40-62 million), and Mao (45-75 million) --  all began with socialist ideologies? No non-socialist has even come close.