Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday convened leaders from more than 60 countries to take part in the Trump administration’s latest effort to quell what it calls 鈥渓eft wing鈥� political terrorism, a marquee issue for Republicans heading into the midterm elections.
This focus comes even as studies show that there are very few reported cases of such incidents in the U.S., especially compared to historically higher levels of far-right violence.
With sweeping statements about the 鈥渁larming rise鈥� of political violence by the left, Rubio and other U.S. officials painted a dark image of the future if the 鈥渃ommunists and Marxists鈥� perpetrating these supposed acts are not defeated. He urged officials in attendance 鈥� mostly from European and Latin American countries 鈥� to unite to address the issue, which he says has been a 鈥渂lind spot鈥� in counterterrorism doctrine.
鈥淪o many people in positions of power have repeatedly dismissed acts of violence and even terrorism as legitimate forms of political expression, so long as they served a left-wing cause,” Rubio said in opening remarks. 鈥淎 bomb planted by a neo-Nazi group was 鈥榓 nefarious and murderous act of evil.鈥� It is, but a bomb planted by a Marxist revolutionary; well, that鈥檚 just merely a tragic excess of idealism.鈥�
A published last year by the Center for Strategic and International Studies found that left-wing terrorism attacks as of July 4, 2025, had surpassed those from the far right for the first time in more than 30 years. However, a closer look at the data reveals that the uptick reflects a very low starting level and a concurrent drop on the far right.
There was an average of 0.6 left-wing incidents annually from 1994 through 2000, compared with an average of 20.6 on the right, the report shows. From 2016 to 2024, there were an average of four per year on the left and 22.7 per year on the right. Those numbers had dropped dramatically on the right as of early July 2025, with only one incident. Meanwhile, there had been five from the left.
But the report鈥檚 authors note that right-wing terrorism could easily return to elevated levels and that it is important to fight terrorism on both sides of the political spectrum.
President Donald Trump and his allies have prioritized talking points against the far left ahead of the congressional elections this November. Trump has repeatedly stated that the Democratic Party鈥檚 ascendant left are communists who want to 鈥渃ompletely destroy the traditional American way of life鈥� and even engage in assassinations.
Vice President JD Vance has similarly called out communism as a political shift that is 鈥渟omething we haven鈥檛 seen in the U.S.鈥� House Speaker Mike Johnson has decried 鈥渞adical candidates鈥� who are 鈥渟elf-described, self-identifying Marxists.鈥�
For Rubio, his worldview on this issue has been largely shaped by his own history: he is the son of Cuban immigrants who arrived in Miami in May 1956, a few years before communist leader Fidel Castro rose to power in Havana. The former Florida senator said Thursday that it was that same government鈥檚 sprawling intelligence and ideological network that 鈥渉elped to build the far left in our country and in our hemisphere.鈥�
Stephen Miller, Trump鈥檚 deputy chief of staff and main architect of the administration’s immigration policy, followed Rubio’s remarks, aiming to drive home the immediacy of the perceived threats he saw to American institutions coming from the left, and what response is needed in return.
鈥淚f your civilization is your home, you must defend it with the same passion and force as if an enemy intruder is inside your own house where your family lives,鈥� Miller said. 鈥淭hat is the level of dedication and urgency that is required.鈥�
This ideological focus has repeatedly conflated democratic socialism 鈥� which often centers on securing universal healthcare, higher taxes on the wealthy and stricter corporate regulation 鈥� with communism, under which private ownership is largely eliminated.
It has only intensified in the last year, following the election of democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani to become New York City mayor and several of his proteges who won their New York City congressional primaries last month, beating out incumbents.
One of the ways the administration has started to target left-wing efforts is through sanctions. In November, the State Department designated four antifa or anti-fascist groups in Europe as foreign terrorist organizations. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in his remarks Thursday that targeting these groups and entities’ financial networks is the best way to circumvent their efforts.
鈥淲e have spent decades developing the world鈥檚 most sophisticated financial counterterrorism capabilities, and now we are mobilizing some of the same tools that we have deployed against terrorists abroad to confront this emerging threat here at home,鈥� he told the conference.
___
Amiri reported from New York and Kinnard from Columbia, South Carolina. Associated Press writer Melissa Goldin in New York contributed to this report.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
