Fact Check: MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell Claims ‘Squad’ Members Are Not Socialists

MSNBC’s Andrea Mitchell claimed on Thursday that members of the “Squad” are not socialists, despite the fact that two of them have explicitly identified as such.

Mitchell took issue with Republican leadership – particularly House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) – describing the ultra-left crew as “socialist Democrats” and claimed during a panel discussion Thursday that “none” of the “Squad” members are socialists.

“None of these members of Congress are socialists, but that is the way the Republican leadership wants to frame this election face-off,” Mitchell said.

“There’s not a single member of these congressional representatives who are avowed socialists, so I don’t know where that is coming from, other than opposition research,” she added:

Mitchell’s assessment, however, is false. “Squad” members Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) are both members of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), which explicitly states that “democracy and socialism go hand in hand.”

The Democratic Socialists of America Facebook page even congratulated Tlaib on her primary victory last year:

The page has also expressed support for the far-left members of the “Squad” in recent days.

“Shoutout to Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib, and Ayanna Pressley for standing strong in the face of Trump’s racist harassment!” the page posted Friday:

During an interview last summer with Black Lives Matter activist DeRay Mckesson, Ocasio-Cortez said, “Call me a socialist. I don’t give a damn”:

Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) is not an official member of the DSA, but one of her staffers told a crowd last year that Omar is “proud to call herself a democratic socialist”:

While Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) has yet to explicitly identify as a Democratic Socialist, she supports many of the big-government ideas touted by the organization and her fellow “Squad” members.