Rep. Young Kim condemns socialism as she prepares for GOP primary

Rep. Young Kim (R-Calif.) recently condemned socialism with a personal take, echoing President Donald Trump’s “communist” branding of NYC Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani as she gears up for next year’s primary in a new district.

What she’s saying: Her comments came Nov. 21 during the floor debate on a GOP resolution “denouncing the horrors of socialism,” which House leaders have positioned as a direct response to Mamdani’s election. In her remarks, she drew on her background as an immigrant raised in post-war Korea, stating she has “witnessed the horrors of socialism firsthand.” To illustrate her point, she told colleagues to simply look at the Korean Peninsula at night and notice how “South Korea shines with opportunity” while “North Korea is trapped in darkness.” She also shared that her mother-in-law risked her life by repeatedly crossing the DMZ to rescue loved ones from the North.

Kim argued that socialism has brought “disaster, starvation, imprisonment and the deaths of over 100 million people worldwide.” Connecting her claim to current events, she said Americans must protect capitalism given that “our nation’s largest city and financial capital has elected not just a socialist, but a communist as mayor.” The House ultimately voted 285-98 to pass the resolution, with 86 Democrats crossing party lines hours before Trump’s scheduled meeting with Mamdani.

Zoom in: Kim’s speech weaves personal biography with conservative policy arguments, presenting her own story as evidence of American exceptionalism. She further described her “first glimpse of freedom as a young girl, looking up wide-eyed as U.S. soldiers tossed candy from their trucks.” Today, as one of the first Korean American women to serve in Congress, she said “that freedom tastes just as sweet.” The imagery, both the childhood memory and her current congressional role, serves dual purposes of connecting emotionally with Asian American communities shaped by war displacement while establishing her credentials within Trump’s Republican Party.

Mamdani, however, is not a communist. The incoming mayor identifies as a democratic socialist, and by characterizing his election as a similar threat to the freedoms North Koreans are desperate for, Kim fails to establish a meaningful connection between his actual policies and the authoritarian socialism responsible for the North’s oppression. This conflation overlooks the significant differences between democratic socialism’s goals and the totalitarian communist ideology Kim Jong-un invokes. Regardless, she has reinforced this message on social media, writing “I refuse to let Zohran Mamdani and the far left peddle communism-lite here” and crediting “the capitalist, free-market system that allowed my family — and many like mine — to achieve their American Dream.”

The big picture: Kim’s speech comes as she prepares for an intra-party contest in California’s redrawn District 40. Following voter approval of Proposition 50 on Nov. 4, the new district spanning Riverside and Orange counties now pits her against fellow Republican Rep. Ken Calvert. The latter, who says he has “lived here my entire life,” holds the geographic advantage, currently representing 51% of the new territory versus Kim’s 35%. On the other hand, Kim has emphasized her alignment with Trump, saying “California needs proven fighters who will stand with President Trump to advance a bold America First agenda.”

Beyond the campaign, Kim has maintained a busy legislative schedule over the past two weeks. She voted to release the Epstein Files, chaired a subcommittee hearing on Burma (where she highlighted how junta-linked scamming operations have stolen billions from Americans) and introduced bipartisan legislation to accelerate deployment of wildfire prevention technologies. Earlier this month, she also voted to end what she called a Democratic-driven shutdown.

The Kim-Calvert primary battle will test whether Trump-aligned rhetoric or district seniority prevails in the 2026 midterms.