Trump Names Antifa Terrorists as Critics Disputing the Group’s Existence

Democratic lawmakers and liberal media pundits are increasingly saying Antifa doesn’t exist as President Donald Trump works to crush the far-left militant group after years of documented incidents of violence.

“There is no such thing as an ‘antifa’ organization, it’s made up,” said John Harwood, a former CNN journalist. posted on Wednesday.

“Name one Antifa member,” New York Democratic Rep. Dan Goldman posted on X September 22. “If he ‘explicitly’ calls for the overthrow of the US government, where can I find that statement? Trump is attempting to suppress opposition by calling anyone who dissents a “domestic terrorist.” Make no mistake: this is against the law and the Constitution. »

Democrats and liberals have increasingly argued that Antifa is not a real organization since Trump designated the group a domestic terrorist organization in September. Critics of the administration point to the lack of an established hierarchy or buy-in process.

Several groups, including Rose City Antifa and the Proud Boys, demonstrate in downtown Portland, Oregon on June 29, 2019. (Dave Killen/The Oregonian via AP)

Antifa is a far-left activist movement that bills itself as an “anti-fascist” activist group that frequently mobilizes in high-profile protests and riots, such as during consecutive nights of nationwide violence at the height of the 2020 riots.

Trump ordered National Guard troops to Portland, Oregon, in late September, with the White House saying the city was rocked by “premeditated lawlessness that has scarred the city for years — leaving officers beaten, citizens terrorized and property defaced” at the hands of Antifa members.

“Since early June, Antifa activists have besieged the ICE field office in South Portland. These crazies violently entered the facility using a stop sign as a battering ram, threw explosives and other projectiles, burned an American flag, repeatedly assaulted, attacked and injured officers with pepper spray, rocks, bricks and trash, doxxed officers, berated neighbors, and even deployed a guillotine,” the White House posted in a September 30 announcement of the order.

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Since Trump first began deploying the National Guard to Portland, Oregon, Democrats and other critics have claimed that Antifa does not exist and poses no threat to law-abiding residents.

“I don’t even know what Antifa is. I know the definition of Antifa. …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 is using the murder of Charlie Kirk as an excuse to attack people he disagrees with,” Goldman added in a statement. Interview with CNN in September.

President Donald Trump gestures to a reporter in the Oval Office of the White House, September 30, 2025, in Washington. (Alex Brandon/Associated Press)

These claims echo the left-wing narrative of 2020, when Democrats and liberals claimed Antifa did not exist as cities saw repeated nights of violent protests and riots following the killing of George Floyd while he was in police custody.

New York Democratic Rep. Jerry Nadler, for example, called Antifa a “myth” when asked about the 2020 violence in July of that year, The The Washington Times reported. Joy Behar of “The View” called Antifa a “fictitious idea” in 2021, adding that it’s “a thing that doesn’t even exist.”

Then-FBI Director Chris Wray during the first Trump administration also told lawmakers in 2020 that Antifa was “not a group or an organization. It’s a movement or an ideology.”

This phrase was later repeated by Joe Biden during his debate against Trump before the 2020 election.

The White House has reiterated that Antifa is a “a radical terrorist organization who has been wreaking havoc and committing violence in American communities for far too long,” when asked if the left was downplaying the group’s existence.

“Anyone who denies this reality is either intentionally lying or just plain stupid. President Trump and his entire administration are determined to end Antifa violence once and for all,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said.

Antifa and individuals associated with the group, however, have been repeatedly involved in acts of violence.

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Independent journalist Andy Ngo gained national notoriety in 2019 when he was attacked by masked Antifa members during a protest in Portland, Oregon. The radical left group has also been accused of increasing tensions throughout the 2020 protests and riots, including its supporters and members creating the “CHOP” zone in Seattle that year, which described itself as a so-called police-free autonomous zone that saw a handful of violence, including the fatal shooting of a 16-year-old boy.

In 2018, a supporter of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders was attacked by Antifa activists for carrying an American flag in Portland, Oregon, while a Trump supporter was shot and killed there 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 Oregon Democratic Party office while demanding “revenge for police killings, imperialist wars and fascist massacres.”

Members of the Communist Party USA and other anti-fascist groups burn an American flag on the steps of the Colorado State Capitol, January 20, 2021, in Denver. (Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images)

In 2025 Portland, Oregon, anti-ICE protesters staged repeated protests outside the city’s immigration center, including burning an American flag and deploying a guillotine before clashing with police in September.

Local Democrats in the area have balked at Trump’s order, filing lawsuits and saying it would be excessive because there is currently no 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 would require military intervention in Portland or any other city in our state,” Oregon Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek said in a Sept. 28 statement. Oregonians are less safe.

Agitators wave an Antifa flag during a prayer vigil for Charlie Kirk in Boston, September 18, 2025. (Lauren Owens Lambert/Reuters)

The administration has defended the National Guard’s deployment to “protect federal assets and personnel,” particularly Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities and officials, which were repeatedly protested during the second Trump administration.

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Trump’s National Guard order is currently stuck in court after a federal judge ruled to temporarily block the order from taking effect earlier in October.

As Democrats and critics criticize Trump’s actions against Antifa, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has repeatedly chastised media outlets for their reporting on Antifa violence in recent weeks.

“This is an issue that the president has campaigned on because we have seen a rise in violence perpetrated by Antifa, radical groups across this country that subscribe to this group,” Leavitt said while speaking to the media in September. “And unfortunately, this was widely uncovered by many mainstream media outlets. It was also completely ignored by the previous administration. That’s not the case now.”