Video: Tim Ryan Tells CNN Democrats Need to 'Reform' the Economy but 'the Government Can't Run Anything Well' and the 'Socialism Piece Is Just Not Going to Work'
A 2 minute 5 second CNN clip posted by Breitbart with a transcript. The former Ohio congressman gives credit to the DSA for talking about affordability first, then rejects its solutions. We relied on the transcript, not the video.
Breitbart posted a clip of former Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, on CNN on Wednesday. We relied on Breitbart's written transcript, not the video. Ryan is a Democrat speaking about his own party's path to 2028.
The question. Asked what kind of Democrat would be best placed to win the presidency in 2028, Ryan said the party "has to be reform-minded."
Credit to the left. He said the DSA, or Democratic Socialists of America, "pointedly" talked about affordability before other Democrats did, and "that's where they got their footing and had some success." He said, "I don't agree with their solutions," but that "you've got to give them credit for the way they've talked about it."
The program. Ryan said Democrats would "have to reform healthcare, we have to reform education, we have to reform immigration," and the way the economy balances capital against labor. He said the economy must be "regulated and can't have this level of corruption and concentration of wealth that it has now," while staying a free market, with solutions that are "pragmatic." He also said AI, technology and blockchain "are blowing the doors off of the current economy."
The line Breitbart's headline picks. "Democrats have to be reform-minded, but it's got to be in the context of we don't want the government to own it, because the government can't run anything well anyway. So, the socialism piece is just not going to work."
Why it matters here. Democrats are arguing over whether their wins came from moderates or from the DSA wing, a debate we covered in the Ken Martin clip. Ryan's answer splits the difference: borrow the affordability message, reject public ownership.
What we could not check. We did not watch the video, so we cannot judge tone or what came before or after. Breitbart's headline and framing choose which of Ryan's comments to emphasize. We did not verify his claim about the DSA being first on affordability.