Alan Dershowitz says he left the Democratic Party after 75 years because he believes its leadership has moved too far to the left and increasingly embraces political figures and ideas he views as hostile to America’s constitutional system.

Speaking with Dr. Drew, Dershowitz described his decision as reluctant but necessary, saying he no longer recognized the party he had supported since adolescence.

"The Democrats have moved so far to the left, and it's not just their extremes. It used to be the extremes, the squad, the Ilhan Omars, the AOCs, but now it's the center of the party, the core of the party."

Dershowitz pointed to Ilhan Omar’s association with Hasan Piker and also referenced Abdul El-Sayed’s campaigning with Piker.

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"Today, we are seeing Ilhan Omar meeting with Hassan Piker. Hassan Piker, the man who said that America deserved 9/11."

He said his concerns extend beyond individual politicians to the broader direction of the Democratic Party.

"And what we're seeing is the destruction of one of our parties, of our great two-party system."

Dershowitz said leaving the party was personally difficult because his Democratic affiliation stretched back decades.

"I have been a Democrat for 75 years. I'm 88. I started when I was 13 years old, going through the streets with a loudspeaker, campaigning for a Democratic assemblyman named Philip Schuffler, and I have been a Democrat, a loyal Democrat, for all these years."

He compared his departure to Ronald Reagan’s well-known explanation for leaving the Democratic Party.

"And as Ronald Reagan said, I didn't leave the Democratic Party; they have left me."

Dershowitz said he initially became an independent before ultimately registering as a Republican.

"So, I am a reluctant Republican, but I am a staunch anti-Democrat."

Dr. Drew then asked Dershowitz about proposals associated with the Democratic Socialists of America involving major structural changes to government, including abolishing the Senate and expanding the Supreme Court.

"That's interesting. Now I literally, I'm, you know, I'm so delighted to be speaking to a constitutional scholar because I'm literally confused by one of the DSA's sort of claims where they're going to get rid of the Senate and pack the Supreme Court. How do you tear up essentially the Constitution from any elected position?"

Dershowitz responded that formally amending the Constitution is deliberately difficult, but he said some institutional changes could occur without an amendment.

"If you really want to amend the Constitution, it's almost impossible to do today, and the Constitution framers made it almost impossible."

He pointed to Supreme Court expansion as one example.

"For example, packing the Supreme Court. There's nothing in the Constitution that says nine. You can have 13, and if you have 13, by the way, as soon as the Republicans come into power, they'll make it 16, and then when the Democrats, they'll make it 19, and soon you're going to have to fill Yankee Stadium with rogue justices, there'll be so many of them because every time some new party gets elected, they will add new justices in order to get their way."

Dershowitz said abolishing the Senate would require a constitutional amendment, but he argued that other efforts could weaken existing constitutional structures without formally changing the document.

"Look, you can't abolish the Senate without a constitutional amendment, but there are ways around it too."

He also cited academic efforts involving the Electoral College.

"There are academics now who are working to try to undo the Electoral College by saying every state should have to cast all its electoral votes for whoever won the popular vote."

Dershowitz described himself as a classical liberal and emphasized that his move to the Republican Party did not mean abandoning longstanding liberal positions.

"I'm a liberal. I'm not a reactionary. I'm a liberal. I support a woman's right to choose. I support gay rights. I support the environment. I support separation of church and state."

His objection, he said, is to what he considers the Democratic Party’s current ideological direction.

"I just don't support the extremism of the New Democratic Party, whose poster children are people like Hassan Piker and Ilhan Omar. And that's not my party. And I don't think it's the party of most Americans."

Dr. Drew described classical liberals as increasingly politically homeless and noted that Dershowitz appeared to have been pushed toward the Republican Party despite reservations.

Dershowitz also discussed the possibility of Democrats controlling Congress and said he was particularly concerned about how committee leadership could be used against political opponents.

"I think the Democrats will take over the House, and that will be a disaster because many of the chair people of the committees are these radicals who will use their chairmanships in a very un-American way to get even with their political opponents."

He also discussed Sen. Susan Collins and New England representation, saying a Collins defeat in Maine would leave Republicans without a House or Senate member from the region despite a significant Republican population there.

Dershowitz warned that American political polarization could deepen if ideological extremes continue gaining power.

Dr. Drew raised the possibility that a major movement to the left could eventually trigger an extreme response from the right.

"I guess one of the things that scares me as well is that if let's say, things really do swing left, then we have the risk of an extreme right stepping in. And now, now we are 1935."

Dershowitz agreed that extreme political movement in one direction can produce a reaction in the other.

"If there's an extreme movement to the left, it will generate an extreme movement to the right, and we'll see people in the street. And that's what happened between 1932 and 1935."

He said he was less concerned about prominent Republicans such as Vice President J.D. Vance and Marco Rubio, describing both as within acceptable political bounds despite their conservative views.

"J.D. Vance is to the right, obviously ideologically, than Donald Trump. But I think he's about as far right as the Republicans are going, and he is not an anti-Semite. He loves America. He's a patriot. He's a decent man. So is Marco Rubio, who is neck and neck with him for the nomination, so I'm not as afraid."

Dershowitz also argued that political reform should begin before candidates ever reach national office.

"Oh, I have a lot, and in my book, Why I Left the Democrats, and so should you. I give lots of lots of prescriptions as to what can be done, starting at elementary school and the lower schools, colleges. Changes in our approach to primaries."

He said primary elections currently give disproportionate power to relatively small groups of highly motivated voters.

"We give too much power to too few people in primaries, which gives the hard left the ability to take over the Democratic Party."

Dershowitz concluded by saying he still believes the country can resist political extremism and preserve its constitutional system.

"I hope and pray that this great country that I love and that my parents, grandparents escaped to from Europe, not only survives, thrives, but continues to be the greatest country in the world. We can make that happen."

Alan Dershowitz was a loyal Democrat for 75 years. He started campaigning for them at 13, going through the streets with a loudspeaker. He’s 88 now – and says he’s done with the party.

"Today we are seeing Ilhan Omar meeting with Hasan Piker," Alan tells me. "Hasan Piker! The man who said that America deserved 9/11... that is what Ilhan Omar embraces." @AlanDersh says when party leadership welcomed figures who despise American values, he reached a breaking point and had to walk away. "The Democrats have moved so far to the left," he says. "It used to be the extremes... but now it’s the center of the party, the core of the party." "I cannot associate with the party whose central components support and endorse these racists, bigots, anti-American, anti-Semite, anti-Judeo-Christian – every good thing that America stands for, the current leadership of the Democratic Party is opposed to." It wasn’t easy for him to leave the party he’d been loyal to all his life. "I am a reluctant Republican, but I am a staunch anti-Democrat. I want to see the Democratic Party defeated. I want to see the current Democratic Party destroyed," he insists. His new book "Why I Quit the Dems: And So Should You!" is available now. Did you leave your party – or did your party leave you? — Dr. Drew (@drdrew) October 30, 2026

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