WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 19, 2026 — Representative Mario Diaz-Balart of Florida stated Wednesday that Republicans now enjoy a clear distinction in policy from what he described as the growing socialist element taking command within the Democratic Party.
Diaz-Balart emphasized: “You see in all the polling and in the voting, Republicans are still the patriotic Americans that, frankly, all Americans used to be not too long ago.”
He added that the GOP will focus on reducing inflation, restoring economic stability, and advancing foreign policy — particularly strengthening democracies in the Western Hemisphere.
“In contrast,” Diaz-Balart said, “all they have is they hate [President Donald] Trump. And they want to basically destroy the economy, have the government take everything over. That’s been tried time and time again. It’s not worked once.”
Diaz-Balart also noted a pivotal Florida primary election on Tuesday where state representative Angie Nixon, a self-described socialist Democrat, defeated retired U.S. Army Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Vindman for the Democratic Party’s U.S. Senate nomination.
Nixon supports Medicare for All and advocates higher taxes on “billionaires,” according to Diaz-Balart.
He characterized the shift as an “anti-American movement,” stating: “Unfortunately, a lot of the Democrats now representing the party are no longer liberals. They are anti-American Marxists.”
Diaz-Balart warned that such Democrats are also anti-Israel and opposed to U.S. national security interests, adding: “A very wise man once told me, ‘You want to know how people really feel about the United States? See what their true feelings are toward Israel.’”
