Americans can’t seem to get on the same page when it comes to what defines socialism even though new polling shows the movement’s favorability is at an all-time high.

Whether far-left factions are able to rally around the label could come down to understand its principles.

Fox News Digital took to the streets of a Maryland liberal hotspot, Takoma Park, for its annual street festival to talk with attendees about their definitions of socialism and how far they would be willing to go to embrace its ideals.

“The fact is that there’s no…one answer,” Nina Gilden Seavey said when asked to define socialism.

“Just the idea of like, you’ve been paying all these things to set up these programs and then you’re actually giving them to the people,” Jaw Blake said describing his view of the political movement. “It’s not a special group that gets to have them, it’s just available.”

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Jenny Sniderman had a more direct answer, claiming that “public libraries, the police department, the fire department, all our public services, utilities,” are all part of what makes up socialism.

A September Gallup poll found that 43% of Americans have a positive image of socialism — the highest level since the polling organization began tracking the question in 2010.

But the survey asks respondents their image of socialism without providing a definition of the ideology or asking whether they would actually support adopting it in the U.S.

The same festival-goers were pressed on socialism as an economic system, questioning their favorability of collective ownership. They shared some skepticism when Fox News Digital asked whether they would personally surrender their private property to government or collective control.

“Do I want to give up my private property? Of course I don’t want to give up my private property,” Sniderman said. “Are they going to reimburse me fairly? That would be helpful in making my choice.”

“I don’t know that I would necessarily love it,” Blake said. “But I mean, if it was something that was beneficial, I’d at least consider it.”

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“Nobody wants what they have to be taken away from them,” he continued. “But there is something to be said about…you can set up things so that they’re available for everybody.”

“I think the government is not the greatest steward…of assets,” Seavey said. “It’s not to say that capitalism is somehow without flaw, but the fact is that there is an idealism that can come from thinking, ‘Oh, if we had some more centrality, if…there was some kind of uber organization in charge of reallocation.'”

Documentary filmmaker and self-described historian Seavey also questioned the idea of government control over private assets, but argued that the growing democratic socialist movement in the U.S. should not be confused with traditional socialism.

“This is not socialism. This is democratic socialism. It’s different. There’s socialism, there’s communism, there are all kinds of ‘isms.’ Democratic socialism is essentially what we have a growing movement in this country,” Seavey said.

“Socialism is where there is a massive redistribution of wealth. We are not having redistribution of wealth in this country.”

But the Democratic Socialists of America, the largest socialist organization in the U.S., advocates redistributing wealth from wealthy individuals and corporations to workers and lower-income Americans. The DSA also calls for public stake in major corporations and essential industries rather than private ownership.

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The differing interpretations among festival-goers reflect a broader debate over what socialism means in America — one that has taken on new political significance as socialist candidates gain ground within the Democratic Party heading into midterm elections.

In a 2018 survey asking Americans to define socialism in their own words, just 17% described it in terms of government ownership or control of businesses or the means of production. Another 23% associated it with equality, while 10% pointed to social benefits and services. Nearly a quarter could not provide an answer.

Seavey argued that political labels themselves have distorted the conversation.

“Let’s think about it differently and let’s take away these ridiculous stigmas that have to do with these crazy labels that we have allowed the right wing to foment onto the rest of America,” Seavey said.

But as socialist-aligned candidates compete for office, the growing movement raises a question that favorable polling alone cannot answer: whether voters are embracing its promises on affordability and equality, or also support its broader proposals for economic ownership and control.

A new proposal that could bring driverless rideshare vehicles to the streets of the nation’s capital is causing an uproar among union workers, drivers and religious leaders who fear the technology could eliminate jobs.

Protesters gathered outside the John Wilson Building as D.C. council members met to discuss legislation that would allow Waymo and other autonomous vehicle operators to offer commercial rides in Washington, D.C. The protesters urged the council to reject the legislation, arguing that an influx of robotaxis would displace rideshare drivers.

“We came out here today strongly because we feel that these robotaxis will put people out of work,” one protester told Fox News Digital. “And people need jobs.”

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“I’m against robotaxis because it takes away from the community, it takes away from their jobs, it takes away food from their table,” Frederick from Virginia said.

He continued, “People need jobs to be able to support their family.”

“It’s bulls – – -,” Sabrina from Washington, D.C., said. “Let’s not bring robots taking my neighbor’s jobs. My folks that drive for a living, let’s just not take their jobs.”

Another person at the protest acknowledged that autonomous vehicles could eliminate some driving jobs but argued the city should “take the offensive” by shortening the workweek without cutting pay and expanding employment elsewhere.

“We should take the offensive on job issues,” Michael from Washington, D.C., said. “We should shorten the workweek, without a loss in pay. So we’ll create more jobs in public transportation, in hospitals, in service industries. So we actually maybe will lose some jobs to taxi drivers, but we’ll create better paying jobs.”

The Autonomous Vehicle Deployment Authorization Amendment Act of 2026 — introduced by Councilmember Charles Allen in May — would create a program for commercial autonomous vehicles in D.C. that would be run by the District Department of Transportation.

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Waymo says its latest safety data, covering more than 270 million miles of autonomous driving, shows its vehicles were involved in 82% fewer injury-causing crashes and 95% fewer crashes involving serious injuries or worse compared with human-driver benchmarks in the same operating areas.

Supporters of robotaxis have also pointed to the potential for lower fares without a human driver, although current comparisons have found Waymo’s prices can vary widely and are not consistently cheaper than traditional rideshare services like Uber and Lyft.

Protesters claimed that while prices may be lower as the driverless vehicles roll out, the rates will eventually spike.

“That’s just something just to…get our antennas up and have us saying, ‘Yeah, ooo, we’re gonna get cheaper rides,’” Sabrina said. “It might be cheap for the trial periods, and then all of a sudden we’ll be paying $50. So no, I don’t believe that. That’s just some crap just to get people engaged with the Waymo.”

“They seem the same price to me,” Helen from Maryland said. “They’re in other cities and it seems like not much of a difference in the pricing.”

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The proposed regulatory framework, which could bring robotaxis to the city by 2028, would initially limit operators to 200 vehicles. Companies seeking commercial permits would have to demonstrate at least 180 days and 250,000 miles of autonomous vehicle testing in the District and submit plans aimed at reducing disparities in service availability and wait times across the city’s eight wards.

There was a public hearing on the bill in July, but no vote has been scheduled. The bill would have to be approved by the entire council before self-driving cars start to hit the city’s streets.

“A worker should be at the table,” Metropolitan Washington Council, AFL-CIO President Samuel Epps told Fox News Digital at the protest. “We shouldn’t rush this.”

“I don’t think it’s good for the city,” Eddie said. “If my children gonna get in a car, I would prefer for a human to be driving.”

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The Senate’s most recognizable rogue Democrat has increasingly broken with his party since Republicans took control of the upper chamber, but he still votes with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., a majority of the time. 

Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., is the Senate’s biggest enigma during a time of hyper-partisanship — he bucks his party on key issues, like the war in Iran and immigration, but continues to vote with Democrats an overwhelming amount of the time.

Since joining the Senate in 2023, Fetterman has voted with Senate Democrats nearly 90% of the time, a figure that stacks up closely to some of the most staunch party liners in the caucus. Still, speculation has swirled as to whether he’ll jump the political shark and become a Republican. 

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Despite that, Fetterman has set the terms clearly this year, arguing that if Democrats continued to turn their backs on Israel, he would leave the party. But some in the GOP believe that no matter the swirl percolating in Washington, D.C., Fetterman isn’t swapping jerseys. He’s also keeping the speculation heavy about whether he will run for another term.

“John Fetterman is a staunch Democrat that votes with his party 96% of the time, anybody who seriously believes that he is going to switch to the Republican Party is thinking wishfully,” a senior Republican aide told Fox News Digital.

Fetterman’s national political career began as a politician armed with an endorsement for Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., running in a pivotal race in 2022 against Dr. Mehmet Oz.

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Sanders told the Associated Press at the time that “if there’s any candidate who was running more than anybody else, who identified with the working class, who made it clear that he was going to Washington to represent working people, it was John Fetterman.”

He flipped that seat, giving Democrats one of the slimmest majorities in history and cementing himself as a rock star in the party.

Since then, he’s run away from Sanders’ ideals and often rejected Schumer and the caucus’ marching orders.

But this year he’s leaned into that grey area, sometimes known as being a centrist, to support Republican ideals. During this session of Congress, Fetterman has broken from Democrats more than ever before, dropping to just under 81% along Democratic Party lines. 

And while that’s happening, Fetterman is reportedly using Republican fundraising platforms to soak up precious donor dollars, is close friends with one of the GOP’s own rock stars, Sen. Katie Britt, R-Ala., made a video message introducing McCormick at the RNC and even accidentally called himself a lifelong Republican during an appearance at the Texas Tribune’s Tribfest last month.

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But when asked about whether he’s considering leaving the party, even after drawing a line in the sand, he recoils — it’s become such a hot topic in the hallways of the Senate that Fetterman stopped taking questions.

As to whether he would jump ship depending on the outcome of the upcoming election, Fetterman said during the event that “there are no Republicans with a 90% Democratic vote line. There are no pro-choice, there’s no pro-gay community, that does not exist in the Republican Party.”

“How many times do I have to say it? And that’s the point. So wait until after the midterms and see what happens,” Fetterman said. “And now, if we do win, and I’m 51, people can remember, ‘hey, that’s why it’s mathematically possible to retain the majority,’ because I was able to win a state like Pennsylvania.”

Fetterman’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

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FIRST ON FOX — Dozens of individuals backed by the Democratic Socialists of America are set to appear on ballots as candidates for state legislature seats on Election Day, something Republicans say could set in motion a trend that transforms the Democratic Party.

At least 65 DSA-aligned candidates have advanced to contest state legislative seats in November’s general election. The Republican State Leadership Committee — the official GOP body responsible for ensuring state-level conservative victories — claimed that these races could very well determine the future of the Democratic Party, according to a memo obtained exclusively by Fox News Digital.

“The statehouse trend is also relevant because several prominent DSA-aligned Congressional candidates in 2026 have emerged from state and local political organizing,” the memo reads. “These victories demonstrate one potential progression: movement organizations can help develop candidates locally and at the state level, provide them with political experience and organizational networks, and eventually support campaigns for Congress.”

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“The scale of that presence matters not only because DSA-aligned candidates could influence the direction of their state legislatures if elected, but because state legislative offices can provide a platform, governing experience, donor networks and organizational infrastructure for future campaigns for higher office,” it continues.

The RSLC’s methodology included candidates who are DSA members, DSA endorsees or self-identified members of the organization.

DSA-affiliated candidates identified by the RSLC take positions on a number of issues that crucial swing voters and independents may find extreme, including defunding or abolishing police departments, left-wing economic policies and demanding race-based reparations.

Opposition to traditional policing has emerged as a prominent issue among some of the DSA-aligned state legislative candidates identified by Republicans.

“As a State Senator I will continue to do everything I can to end policing and incarceration in New York State,” Democratic State Sen. Jabari Brisport’s campaign website reads. Brisport also supports decriminalizing prostitution, arguing that removing criminal penalties for sex workers while maintaining protections against trafficking and exploitation would help keep communities safe.

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Over in Wisconsin, Democratic State Rep. Ryan Clancy has stood by his statement that police work has “no dignity or value.”

“It means that American policing has always been bad and it always will be,” Clancy told a local outlet in 2023, alleging that American police forces have their roots in slave patrols. “It’s not like we can get back to this to the early days… American policing… [is] epically racist and classist because that’s a dead end. That is the point of American policing.”

Clancy told Fox News Digital that his comments concerned officers who abused their authority over sex workers, although his original remarks and subsequent 2023 interview criticized policing more broadly as an institution he argued was inherently racist and could not be reformed.

He concurred with the RSLC’s assertion that DSA-aligned candidates are shaping the future of the Democratic Party.

State Rep. Eleanor Chávez, running with the DSA’s backing in New Mexico, meanwhile has called Immigration and Customs Enforcement “fascist” and compared its agents to the KKK. Republicans in New Mexico have condemned such rhetoric, arguing that it could spur people to commit violence against law enforcement officers.

Despite its propensity to draw attention to its stances on social issues, the DSA bills itself as an economically motivated organization.

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To this end, some of its members running for state legislatures have called for reforms some have described as radical.

New York Democratic Assemblywoman Sarahana Shrestha, who is running for re-election with the backing of the DSA, has pushed legislation that would allow the government to acquire the privately held Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp., potentially through eminent domain if a negotiated purchase cannot be reached.Dylan Wegela, a DSA-backed state house candidate in Michigan, has similarly pushed for state acquisitions of utility companies.

Shrestha agrees with the RSLC’s assessment that DSA-aligned state lawmakers could influence the Democratic Party’s trajectory.

“The things DSA-aligned state lawmakers are fighting for are things that are extremely popular with voters, and have been for a long time,” she told Fox News Digital. “A majority of our constituents believe the energy sector should not be for profit, healthcare should be single-payer and universal, the government should play a positive role in building necessary infrastructure such as permanently affordable housing and public transit, and so on.”

The DSA-affiliated lawmaker also defended her plan to take over the Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp., citing a feasibility study commissioned by supporters of the bill that found it would lower costs for consumers.

Sometimes, the stances of DSA clash with Democratic policy priorities.

Gabriel Acevero, a DSA-backed lawmaker in Maryland, for instance, opposed a marijuana legalization measure he argued did not go far enough to address racial inequities, declaring that “cannabis legalization without reparations for communities harmed by the intentional drug war is not progressive policy.” Scores of DSA-affiliated candidates running in states such as New York, Minnesota and Massachusetts have thrown their support behind reparations for racial minorities.

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Republicans have a vested interest in tying the mainstream Democratic Party to the DSA. A Fox News poll from September found that 55% of registered voters had an unfavorable opinion of the DSA.

While some in the Democratic Party argue that Republican attempts to tie the Democratic Party to socialism are bad-faith campaign tricks, party leadership has recently made significant concessions to its left-wing flank.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer backed Abdul El-Sayed’s more moderate opponent in Michigan’s Democratic Senate primary, but a super PAC aligned with Schumer has since committed millions of dollars to supporting El-Sayed’s general-election campaign. El-Sayed is a progressive backed by prominent figures on the party’s left, but who has said he is not a socialist.

Due to the disorganized nature of the DSA and the varying degrees of affiliation held by candidates, estimates of the number of socialist candidates running for state legislature vary across sources. The Brookings Institution, for instance, found at least 76 had advanced to the general election, while the RSLC’s analysis identified a minimum of 65 running in a total of 24 states.

Though the DSA’s gains have received significant attention, a Brookings Institution analysis found that candidates backed by the organization represent only a tiny fraction of the nation’s state legislative seats, raising questions about how far the socialist movement’s growing influence extends.

“The RSLC has consistently said that socialism starts in the states and that is where we need to stop it,” the RSLC’s memo reads. “The DSA’s growing presence in statehouse races could have dangerous impacts for state policy in the short-term, and it reflects a clearly orchestrated long-term effort to build political power from the state-level up.”

Every state legislative candidate mentioned was reached for comment by Fox News Digital on Tuesday.

American truckers are warning that sky-high diesel prices are eating into their profits and putting pressure on trucking companies to cut routes, raising concerns that some drivers could be forced off the road and the pain could eventually reach Americans at the grocery store.

“Fuel prices is going up, the rates are not going up,” Miami-based trucker Suave Dorsett told Fox News Digital. “So it’s hurting our pockets real bad.”

The warnings come as the Iran war sends diesel prices soaring, squeezing American truckers even as President Donald Trump predicts oil prices will fall “like a stone” amid expectations that the conflict could soon end. Drivers told Fox News Digital the damage is already mounting, with routes being cut and smaller operators facing mounting financial pressure.

Dorsett is among several truckers who told Fox News Digital that soaring fuel costs are cutting into their earnings and putting pressure on an industry responsible for moving goods across the country, with one driver reporting fewer routes and others warning that smaller operators could eventually be forced to park their rigs.

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The national average for diesel stood at roughly $6.32 per gallon Monday, according to AAA — up from about $3.69 at the same time last year, a jump of more than 70%. The surge has also eclipsed the previous record of $5.816 per gallon, set in June 2022 under former President Joe Biden as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent global energy prices soaring.

For Dorsett, who has been driving for nine years, the price at the pump was even steeper. He told Fox News Digital he was seeing diesel at $7.40 per gallon while traveling through Ohio.

Dorsett said the fuel spike comes as truckers are already shouldering a long list of expenses, including diesel exhaust fluid (DEF), which helps reduce harmful emissions, parking, showers, weighing and reweighing loads, repairs and towing.

And if diesel prices remain elevated, Dorsett predicted smaller operators will be the first to buckle.

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“Some of the smaller companies, like the smaller owner ops, would slowly fall off and it’s going to create a chain effect,” Dorsett said, predicting a “domino effect” that could eventually put pressure on larger carriers.

Tyler Rinaldi, a Louisiana trucker with about a decade of experience who transports hazardous materials and other freight for an LTL company, said he has already seen weekend routes scaled back at his company.

“I’ve seen a lot of routes get cut,” Rinaldi told Fox News Digital. “They’re not really running like they want to on the weekends right now.”

“I definitely see a lot change because of it at my company, slowly, but it’s starting to be more noticeable,” he added.

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Rinaldi, who is married with two children, said fewer routes could eventually mean less money coming home.

“When they start cutting routes and trying to limit the expenses on what routes they send out,” Rinaldi said, “that takes away from the people that work in the company’s pockets.”

Avante Jackson, an 11-year trucking veteran from Charlotte, North Carolina, who transports steel and other construction materials, said rising diesel prices are forcing truckers to take a harder look at whether the money they bring in is enough to keep their businesses running.

“If I’m putting all of my profit in the tank,” Jackson said, “at the end of the day, what do I have left to keep the doors open?”

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Jackson cautioned against “fear-mongering” about potential shortages, but said a widespread loss of drivers could ultimately reach consumers.

“It really could hit the community,” he said.

The latest diesel spike echoes a similar crunch in 2022 under former President Joe Biden, when the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine sent fuel prices flying. Diesel reached a then-record national average of $5.82 per gallon that June, squeezing truckers as operating expenses climbed.

According to the American Transportation Research Institute, trucking fuel costs surged 53.7% in 2022, helping drive a 21.3% jump in overall operating costs to a then-record $2.25 per mile. The latest spike threatens to revive those pressures, particularly for smaller operators with less room to absorb rising fuel bills.

As the Trump administration pushes international partners to release emergency fuel reserves in an effort to bring prices down, the truckers had their own message for the president: don’t forget about the drivers absorbing the costs on the road.

“My message to President Trump would just be to think about who’s keeping America moving,” Jackson told Fox News Digital. “Think about the little guys out here each and every day.”

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“We truly are the backbone of America, we keep America moving,” he added. “We just want you just to think about us and put yourself in our shoes…Let’s try to get the fuel prices down and let’s try to just make more of a change,” he said. “We know we can do better.”

Trump defended higher fuel prices Thursday as a temporary sacrifice in the fight to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, saying on Truth Social that rising gasoline costs were “a small price to pay for Iran not having a Nuclear Weapon.”

Trump said last week that European countries had agreed to release diesel from their stockpiles after he pressed them to put more supply on the market. The G7 subsequently agreed to release 100 million barrels of oil and fuel products from previously pledged emergency reserves over four months, including a substantial diesel release during the first 20 days, in an effort to ease pressure on global fuel markets.

Trump also said his administration would not pursue a diesel export ban and expressed confidence that oil prices would eventually return to levels seen before the latest spike, though energy markets remain under pressure from global supply disruptions.

Trump predicted during a Wednesday night rally in San Antonio, Texas, that oil prices would “come down like a rock” once the war with Iran ends, insisting the conflict would be over “very soon.”

“This week, President Trump signed an executive order that will quickly cut diesel costs and put money directly back into the pockets of American truckers, saving them over $100 every time they refill at the gas pump. Last week, he negotiated a deal with our European counterparts to release 100 million barrels—mainly diesel—from their stockpiles to add supply to the market and lower costs,” White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers told Fox News Digital.

“The President wants to see prices at the pump fall and continues to take historic action to ease temporary disruptions as oil flowing through the Strait of Hormuz approaches pre-conflict levels,” Rogers added.