DNC Chair Ken Martin compares Trump’s America to Iran theocracy regime

Democratic National Committee (DNC) Chairman Ken Martin is under fire from Republicans for comparing the United States under President Donald Trump to Iran’s Islamic theocracy, accusing both of exhibiting “authoritarian behavior.”

Martin’s comments came amid protests in Minneapolis and across the country following last week’s fatal shooting of a 37-year-old Minnesota woman, a mother of three, by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent and amid a wave of massive protests against Iran’s cleric-controlled government in recent weeks.

“From Tehran to my hometown of Minneapolis, people are rising up against systems that carry out violence without accountability. In Iran, courageous protesters are confronting a far-right theocratic regime that is crushing dissent and denying basic freedoms. » Martin wrote.

The DNC chair, a former longtime chairman of the Minnesota state party, first made the comparison in a social media post last Sunday.

DNC CHAIRMAN’S CONTROVERSIAL COMPARISON CAUSES REACTION

Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin oversees the opening session of the DNC summer meeting, August 25, 2025, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Paul Steinhauser/Fox News)

He added: “Here at home, tens of thousands of people are marching after the fatal shooting of Renée Good by ICE – demanding justice, transparency and an end to an unchecked federal force that takes lives and tears families apart. Solidarity across borders means opposing authoritarian power everywhere and defending the right to live without fear and state violence.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of Trump’s top allies in the Senate and a longtime supporter of a muscular U.S. foreign policy, criticized Martin.

“First of all, Ken Martin is a worthless piece of shit,” Graham accused during an appearance on Fox News’ “Hannity.” “Can you imagine this guy fighting for freedom? Comparing President Trump and the Trump regime to the Ayatollah means you have the worst case of Trump Derangement Syndrome in the world. Go to hell.”

The DNC chair, in response to Graham’s attack, said the senator was “a sniveling coward and Trump bootlicker who hasn’t had a firm conviction in decades. I will wear his condemnation as a badge of honor.”

And in an interview with MS NOW earlier this week, Martin claimed that “people are very concerned that basic rights and human rights in this country are being violated by his own government…that’s now what we should be as America, but that’s unfortunately what we’ve become under this administration.”

DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST CALLS PARTY FOR “OPPOSE FIRST, THINK LATER” RESPONSE TO TRUMP’S CAPTURE OF MADURO

Law enforcement personnel work on scene following a suspected shooting by an ICE agent during federal operations on January 7, 2026 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images)

But RNC national press secretary Kiersten Pels asserted in a statement to Fox News Digital on Friday that “this is a desperate ploy by a man who has driven the DNC to financial ruin and political irrelevance. Ken Martin is so unhinged that he compares Tehran to Minneapolis and encourages violent obstruction of federal law enforcement.”

Democrats are energized, in large part because of their resistance to Trump and his sweeping, unprecedented measures during his first year in the White House. And Martin’s controversial comments appear to receive approval from his own party.

“I think everyone gives Ken a pass because he’s from Minnesota and Minnesota hasn’t been able to catch a break recently,” a DNC committee member who asked to remain anonymous to speak more freely told Fox News Digital. “So it’s very raw, very personal and very hurtful for him.”

VOTERS SHARPLY DIVIDED ALONG PARTY LINES FOLLOWING ICE SHOOTINGS IN MINNESOTA

People march during a protest following the fatal shooting of Renee Good by an ICE agent on January 8, 2026, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Getty Images)

Asked about Martin’s comparison, longtime DNC committee member and Democratic strategist Maria Cardona told Fox News Digital: “Ken Martin is not comparing Iranian autocracy to Trump’s America. idea of ​​how to follow the law and how to properly and legally track down violent undocumented criminal immigrants.

And veteran Democratic consultant Joe Caiazzo, when asked about Martin’s comments, asserted that “from the rhetoric deployed to the policies adopted and executive orders issued, it is clear that Donald Trump would like to be a dictator.”

A source at the DNC told Fox News Digital “everyone supports most of what he’s saying.” That means a spokesperson for the rival Republican National Committee (RNC) said Friday that Martin is “unbalanced.”

POLL: AMERICANS SUPPORT POSSIBLE AMERICAN STRIKE AGAINST IRAN

In this image capture from video obtained by the AP outside Iran, a masked protester holds a photo of Iranian Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi during a demonstration in Tehran, Iran, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (UGC via AP)

The editorial board of the conservative-leaning Wall Street Journal criticized Martin in an opinion piece.

“Exaggerated rhetoric on domestic affairs is one thing. Associating a false image of American authoritarianism with the fight for freedom in Iran is morally obtuse. It is an insult to one’s own country,” the committee wrote in an opinion piece. “It also weakens the Iranian people, who rely on the United States and desperately call for its help, by saying that America is another murderous tyranny, comparable to theirs. Mr. Martin has essentially told the Iranians that the United States is on the side of their regime.”

After Martin’s comparison sparked strong reactions on social media, he doubled down.

“If comparing the United States to Iran makes you angry, ask why. Killing protesters. Crushing dissent. Kidnapping and disappearing legal citizens. Ignoring the courts. Threatening critics. Terrorizing communities. This is authoritarian behavior, anywhere. If you rush to defend it, the problem may not be the comparison. Trump keeps promoting it, Americans don’t accept it, and Minneapolis won’t keep it silence.” Martin said in an additional article on X.

PROGRESSIVE TALKS TO “ABOLISH ICE” SECURE NEW DIVISION AMONG DEMOCRATS

All three national polls released this week indicate that a majority of Americans approve of how ICE is implementing Trump’s push for the mass deportation of millions of undocumented migrants. But there is a large partisan divide, with Republicans supporting ICE and the president.

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Cardona pointed out that “Trump and ICE are losing public opinion on this because the majority of Americans know this should not be happening in the United States of America.”

And Martin, during his appearance on MS NOW, argued that “if Donald Trump thinks what he’s doing in Minneapolis is going to improve his poll numbers, I think he has something else coming.”

Meanwhile, in Iran, US news agency Human Rights Activists News Agency reports that at least 2,677 people have been killed during protests. Other reports put the death toll at more than 3,000, with the true number likely significantly higher.

The protests against Iran’s dire economic situation, which have escalated rapidly in recent days, are considered among the most violent since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that established the current system of clerical rule.