Far-left rag The Nation admits Antifa is real—and says it's a good thing

"To protect us all from the violence of the Trump administration, we must defend Antifa," writes Christopher Mathias at The Nation. That the outlet admits to the existence of the violent, far-leftist group flies in the face of years of Democratic messaging where lawmakers and officials have claimed that the group simply does not exist.

President Donald Trump, both in his first term and his second, has been outspoken on not only the existence of Antifa, but has also designated it a terrorist organization. Antifa was integral to creating the mayhem in the summer of 2020 following the death of George Floyd, has taken up the activist fight for trans in America, and is key in fighting against Immigration and Customs Enforcement practices and officers. 

"'Antifa,'" The Nation writes, "a shortening of the word 'antifascist,' refers to a decentralized, underground network of radical leftists dedicated to destroying the far right. Its activists are mostly anarchists, communists, and socialists, and, though they might differ in ideology, they all subscribe to a specific militant tradition of antifascism holding that fascists need to be fought 'by any means necessary.'"

The Nation states that "Although antifa groups are very real, and often collaborate, there is not an overarching organization. There are no leaders. No hierarchies. No org chart or headquarters." This is exactly what those journalists who cover Antifa have said again and again. It is the lack of leadership that has allowed Democrats to claim the group is just "an idea," because it does not look like typical organizations, but one in which anyone can be a leader at any time and no one person can be targeted in an attempt to take down the whole group. This is one way that Antifa has essentially gaslit the American public.

Trump held a roundtable at the White House in the fall of 2025 during which journalists who had been covering Antifa and their violent, direct actions for years told the president and the Department of Justice about Antifa networks and organizing principles. Many of those had been attacked and injured by Antifa militants.

In previous years, President Joe Biden had said that Antifa was just "an idea." The View's Joy Behar said Antifa was "fictitious." Jimmy Kimmel claimed Antifa is "entirely imaginary." Rep. Jerry Nadler said that the documented Antifa violence in Portland, Oregon is a "myth."

"Again and again," The Nation writes, "however, antifa was dismissed by liberals and mainstream pundits as hysterics or radicals or extremists of worse: not even a thing."

Taking issue with Trump's anti-Antifa actions in office, The Nation writes that "MAGA is counting on liberals’ throwing antifa under the bus, so that it can move on to other targets. To protect us all, liberals owe antifa solidarity, not derision. Admitting that antifa exists, that it is real, and that it is worth defending would be a good place to start."