Prominent Democratic politicians and progressive activists participated in a March video call hosted by Progressive Victory during which left-wing podcaster Kyle Kulinski compared the U.S. government to Nazi Germany, calling American leaders "disgusting" and equating them to Mussolini and Adolf Hitler. Participants on the virtual event titled "Choose Your Fighter" included Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., progressive candidates Abdul El-Sayed and Cori Bush, and controversial streamer Hasan Piker. The call was organized to highlight progressive politicians opposing U.S. policy regarding Iran.
The remarks drew immediate criticism from some corners while finding defenders among the organizers. Kulinski accused the U.S. and Israeli governments of "creating the fourth Reich" and described American leadership as "governed by dead-eye psychopaths and sociopaths and bloodthirsty imperialists." He also called the Make America Great Again movement "an imperialist fascist death cult." Oliver Larkin, a progressive Democrat running for Congress in Florida whose campaign helped organize the event, confirmed the call raised $40,000 for 20 progressive anti-war candidates.
What the Right Is Saying
Canary Mission, an antisemitism watchdog organization, condemned Kulinski's rhetoric as indicative of rising anti-American sentiment on the left. "Kyle Kulinski's speech at Progressive Victory's online rally attended by prominent DSA and Democratic politicians indicates the hateful and anti-American ideas proliferating on the left," a spokesperson said. The group added that "support for terrorist regimes and historical revisionism has no place in American politics" and called for mainstream Democrats to distance themselves from such rhetoric. "This level of extremism must be distanced from the Democratic Party," the spokesperson stated.
What the Left Is Saying
Benjamin Gilbert-Lif, deputy executive director of Progressive Victory, told Fox News Digital that the organization "stands by the comments made by Kyle Kulinski" and characterized them as reflecting the views of their community and many Jewish members. "We also question why anyone would consider the idea of a 'Jewish State' to be anything other than an explicit desire for an ethno-state," Gilbert-Lif said, adding that Progressive Victory supports "a secular, one-state democracy where Israelis and Palestinians can coexist without artificially imposed borders or legal preferences toward one ethnicity." Oliver Larkin accused the Trump administration of "rather than enforcing U.S. and international law... continuing to fund an ongoing genocide" in reference to U.S. support for Israel. A spokesperson for Khanna said the congressman was not present during Kulinski's remarks, joined for five minutes to speak, and "obviously disagrees with them."
What the Numbers Show
Fox News reported that Progressive Victory's Choose Your Fighter event raised $40,000 for 20 progressive candidates nationwide, according to Larkin. Rep. Ro Khanna represents California's 17th Congressional District and has been mentioned as a potential future presidential candidate. The event was organized in part by Larkin's congressional campaign; he is running against incumbent Republican Rep. Byron Donalds in Florida's 19th Congressional District. This was not Kulinski's first high-profile political engagement—he hosts the Secular Talk podcast and has previously interviewed Democratic politicians including Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.
The Bottom Line
The controversy highlights ongoing tensions within the Democratic Party over foreign policy positions, particularly regarding U.S. support for Israel. Republican critics have seized on the remarks to characterize progressive Democrats as anti-American, while Progressive Victory has defended its positions as consistent with opposition to ethno-nationalism. Rep. Khanna's office moved quickly to distance the congressman from Kulinski's specific language, though questions remain about his presence at events organized by groups espousing such views. The episode illustrates the challenge facing establishment Democrats who work with progressive organizations that sometimes employ rhetoric far more extreme than mainstream party positions.