Sen. Ted Cruz intended to argue that socialism allows political leaders to enrich themselves while the public bears the cost. Instead, the Texas senator produced a definition of corrupt political wealth that could be redirected almost immediately toward the billionaire president leading his own party.
The complete exchange of his interview shows he was targeting New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani. Appearing on Fox News’ Hannity Cruz called Mamdani a “full-on communist” while discussing the mayor’s tax on expensive second homes and plans for subsidized grocery stores.
“Fidel Castro was a billionaire. Putin is a billionaire. The leaders of communist regimes are always rich. They steal and rob from those they govern,” he explained.
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The full Fox News transcript leaves little ambiguity about the intended target. Cruz made the statement immediately after claiming that Mamdani owned a “palatial estate” in Uganda and immediately before criticizing the mayor’s grocery-store policy. Earlier in the same interview, Cruz defended Trump while discussing the 2024 assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania.
The problem for Republican messaging is that Cruz framed the danger less around economic policy than around leaders accumulating wealth through political power, precisely as Trump’s financial disclosures show his private income surging during his second presidency.
Cruz’s argument becomes politically difficult to contain because Trump is not merely a billionaire who entered government. His businesses produced substantially more income during his first year back in office than they had before his return.
Forbes estimated Trump’s net worth at $6.5 billion in March 2026, an increase of $1.4 billion from the previous year. A later Forbes analysis of Trump’s financial disclosure calculated that he received approximately $2.4 billion in income during 2025, compared with an estimated $760 million in 2024.
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Trump also reported more than $1.4 billion in income from crypto ventures in 2025, according to Reuters’ review of his annual disclosure The ventures expanded as his administration reversed the previous federal crackdown on the industry.
The disclosure showed that his companies received almost $800 million from World Liberty Financial, the cryptocurrency venture he co-founded with his sons. Trump said independent funds managed his finances and attributed broader financial gains to the strength of the stock market.
Separate ethics filings disclosed between $220 million and $750 million in securities transactions involving major corporations and municipal bonds. The Trump Organization said financial institutions executed the trades through automated and independently managed accounts, without Trump family members selecting individual investments. The assets remain in a trust controlled by Trump’s children, rather than a conventional blind trust.
Those disclosures do not prove that Trump stole public money or committed an offense. The president and vice president are also not covered by several federal criminal conflict-of-interest restrictions that apply to other executive-branch officials, according to the US Office of Government Ethics.
The figures nevertheless weaken Cruz’s attempt to reserve politically connected wealth as an indictment of communism. Once the argument becomes that leaders should be distrusted when their fortunes grow alongside their political power, it becomes harder to prevent audiences from applying the same standard domestically.
The comparison also depends on several claims that cannot be established as Cruz stated them. Forbes placed Fidel Castro’s fortune at $900 million in 2006, leaving him below billionaire status. The estimate attributed value to state-controlled operations including the CIMEX retail conglomerate, pharmaceutical businesses, and the Havana Convention Center based on the assumption that Castro exercised personal economic control over them.
Castro denied possessing foreign accounts or a personal fortune and said he would resign if the magazine could prove that he held even $1 abroad. No publicly available evidence subsequently established personal ownership of the $900 million attributed to him.
Putin’s finances are even less transparent. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists traced approximately $2 billion through offshore arrangements involving people and companies linked to the Russian president. The investigation showed how money and influence circulated around Putin’s associates, but it did not establish that Putin personally owned the assets.
Cruz’s classification of Putin as a communist ruler is also inaccurate. Russia is governed by Putin’s United Russia political machine, not a communist party. Freedom House’s 2026 assessment describes the country as an authoritarian system in which power is concentrated around Putin, supported by controlled media, subservient courts, security agencies, and manipulated elections.
Mamdani is likewise not a self-identified communist. The New York City Democratic Socialists of America identifies him as a democratic socialist and DSA member. Its campaign materials described his platform as explicitly socialist, centered on rent controls, free buses, childcare, and public intervention in essential services.
Cruz’s comments came amid a legitimate policy fight over how far New York should intervene in housing and food markets. The city’s new pied-à-terre tax applies to nonresident owners of secondary homes worth more than $5 million. The Mamdani administration expects it to generate approximately $500 million annually, according to New York City’s fiscal year 2027 executive budget.
Mamdani has also proposed five city-supported grocery stores offering discounts of approximately 30% on produce, meat, and other essentials. Private operators would manage the stores, while the city would provide space and absorb certain operating costs.
Small-business owners have warned that subsidized prices could hurt bodegas and independent grocers, according to the Associated Press.
Cruz attacking Mamdani is not new. The Texas senator posted on X that “in a first-world country, you could turn on the A/C,” responding to New York Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani’s request that residents set air conditioners to 78 degrees, turn off unused electronics, and unplug devices during a major heat wave.
X’s Community Notes system then added context, pointing out that Cruz’s own state has made similar requests on several occasions.
One Response
Cons say anything leaning left (or helping other people) as “communist”, but to call Putin a communist is, well dumb. Please recognize a dictator when you see one. You work with one. Castro…communist who became a dictator. There you go Ted.