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Democrat lawmakers and liberal media pundits are increasingly claiming Antifa does not exist as President Donald Trump works to squelch the far-left militant group following years of documented incidents of violence.
“No ‘antifa’ organization exists this is made up,” former CNN journalist John Harwood posted to X Wednesday.
“Name one member of ‘Antifa,'” Democratic New York Rep. Dan Goldman posted to X Sept. 22. “If it ‘explicitly’ calls for the overthrow of the USG, where can I find that statement? Trump is trying to suppress opposition by labeling anyone who dissents as a ‘domestic terrorist.’ Do not be fooled: This is lawless and unconstitutional.”
Democrats and liberals are increasingly claiming Antifa is not a real organization since Trump designated the group a domestic terrorist organization in September. Critics of the administration point to Antifa’s lack of an established hierarchy or membership process.
Antifa is a far-left militant movement that pitches itself as an “antifascist” activist group that frequently mobilizes during high-profile protests and riots, such as during the consecutive nights of national violence at the height of the 2020 riots.
Trump ordered National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, at the end of September, with the White House arguing the city has been rocked by “premeditated anarchy that has scarred the city for years — leaving officers battered, citizens terrorized, and property defaced” at the hands of Antifa members.
“Since early June, Antifa militants have laid siege to the ICE field office in south Portland. These lunatics have violently breached the facility by using a stop sign as a battering ram, hurled explosives and other projectiles, burned an American flag, repeatedly assaulted, attacked, and injured officers with pepper spray, rocks, bricks, and trash, doxed officers, berated neighbors, and even rolled out a guillotine,” the White House posted in an announcement of the order on Sept. 30.
In the days since Trump first floated deploying the National Guard to Portland, Oregon, Democrats and other critics have claimed Antifa does not exist or pose a threat to law-abiding residents.
“I don’t even know what Antifa is. I know what the definition of Antifa is. … There is no group,” podcast host Chuck Todd said in September.
“I hope he can first define what Antifa is, because there is no Antifa organization. … He’s using the Charlie Kirk murder as a pretext to go after people that he disagrees with,” Goldman added in a CNN interview in September.
The claims echo the left-wing narrative of 2020, when Democrats and liberals argued Antifa did not exist as cities saw repeated nights of violent protest and riots following the killing of George Floyd when he was in police custody.
Democratic New York Rep. Jerry Nadler, for example, called Antifa a “myth” when pressed about 2020’s violence in July of that year, The Washington Times reported. Joy Behar of “The View” brushed off Antifa as a “fictitious idea” in 2021, adding that it’s “a thing that doesn’t even exist.”
Then-FBI Director Chris Wray, under Trump’s first administration, also told lawmakers in 2020 that Antifa is “not a group or an organization. It’s a movement or an ideology.”
The phrase was later repeated by Joe Biden during his debate against Trump ahead of the 2020 election.
The White House doubled down that Antifa is a “a radical terrorist organization who has been wreaking havoc and perpetrating violence on American communities for far too long,” when asked about the left downplaying the group’s existence.
“Anyone denying this reality is either intentionally lying or just plain stupid. President Trump and his entire Administration are committed to stopping Antifa’s violence once and for all,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said.
Antifa and individuals associated with the group, however, have repeatedly been tied to violence.
Independent journalist Andy Ngo gained national prominence in 2019 when he was attacked by masked Antifa members during a Portland, Oregon, protest. The radical left-wing group also was accused of heightening tensions throughout the 2020 protests and riots, including supporters and members establishing the “CHOP” zone in Seattle that year, which described itself as a so-called autonomous zone free of police that saw a handful of violence, including the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old boy.
Back in 2018, a supporter of Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders was attacked by Antifa militants for carrying an American flag in Portland, Oregon, while a Trump supporter there was shot and killed in 2020 by another man who identified himself online as “100% ANTIFA,” according to previous reports. More than 100 anti-fascist supporters and Antifa members were arrested in Portland after Biden’s inauguration after clashing with police and vandalizing the Democratic Party of Oregon’s office while demanding “revenge for police murders, imperialist wars, and fascist massacres.”
In 2025 in Portland, Oregon, anti-ICE protesters have staged repeated demonstrations outside the city’s immigration facility, including burning an American flag and rolling out a guillotine before clashing with police in September.
Local Democrats in the area have balked at Trump’s order, filing lawsuits and claiming it would be excessive as there’s not a current threat to public safety.
“When the president and I spoke yesterday, I told him in plain language that there is no insurrection or threat to public safety that necessitates military intervention in Portland or any other city in our state,” Democratic Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek said in a statement Sept. 28. “Despite this — and all evidence to the contrary — he has chosen to disregard Oregonians’ safety and ability to govern ourselves. This is not necessary. And it is unlawful. And it will make Oregonians less safe.”
The administration defended the deployment of the National Guard to “protect federal assets and personnel,” specifically Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities and officials that have been protested repeatedly under the second Trump administration.
Trump’s National Guard order is currently tied up in the courts after a federal judge ruled to temporarily bar the order from taking effect earlier in October.
Amid Democrats and critics slamming Trump’s actions on Antifa, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt repeatedly has admonished the media over its reporting on Antifa’s violence in recent weeks.
“This is something the president campaigned on because we have seen a rise in violence perpetuated by Antifa, radical people across this country who subscribe to this group,” Leavitt said during remarks to the media in September. “And unfortunately, it’s gone widely uncovered by many in the legacy media. It also went completely ignored by the previous administration. Not anymore.”
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