Reich is quoting Harry Truman's 1952 Syracuse campaign speech accurately — Truman really did argue that opponents labeled Social Security, public power, and union rights as 'socialism' to discredit them. The quote is well-documented in historical archives. Reich is deploying it as commentary on current political rhetoric, where 'socialism' is again used to attack popular programs like Medicare expansion and student debt relief. The pattern Truman identified — branding broadly beneficial policies as radical — has been a consistent feature of US political debate for over 70 years.