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President Trump is seizing on a series of far-left wins in Democratic primaries to paint the opposition party as dangerous “communists” about four months out from midterm elections.
The president has never shied away from painting Democrats as far left, but his recent messaging gives Republicans an amped-up blueprint for capitalizing on the progressive left becoming an insurgent force across the country.
“They use the word social democrat because it sounds so nice, but it’s really communism you’re talking about,” Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on Monday when asked about the growing list of left-wing primary wins.
“I think it’s the biggest threat to our nation there is, maybe since our founding,” he added. “That includes World War I, World War II, September 11, it includes the Pearl Harbor attack.”
A number of progressive candidates or candidates affiliated with the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) have emerged in New York and across the country following New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s win late last year.
Progressive Katie Wilson won her bid for Seattle’s mayor’s office earlier this year, while Janeese Lewis George won Washington, D.C.’s mayoral race with the backing of the local DSA chapter earlier this month.
Republicans have specifically targeted Maine Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner over a now-deleted online post in which he said he “got older and became a communist.”
Meanwhile, Darializa Avila Chevalier, who ousted incumbent Rep. Adriano Espaillat (D-N.Y.) last week, has come under fire for a now-deleted social media account in which she made favorable references to communists.
“The inmates are running the asylum in the Democrat Party, and Mamdani, Chevalier, and Platner are the new faces of the radical socialist takeover. President Trump is right to warn Americans of the extremism taking over the Left,” Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters said in a statement. “The midterms are shaping up to be a decision between extremism and common sense.”
The messaging comes as Democrats have seized on the issue of affordability, as inflation continues to rise under the Trump administration. Data released by the Commerce Department last week showed inflation hitting its highest level in over three years.
“They need to double down on this now because they don’t really have a midterm message otherwise, and the economy is not where they need it to be,” one Democratic strategist said, referring to the GOP.
However, Republicans note Democrats have employed a similar strategy to paint the GOP with a broad brush, referring to Trump’s strategy as an effort to level the playing field.
“For the last decade or so, every Republican has had to answer for everything that has been said by every single member of the Republican conference,” said GOP consultant Matt Beynon.
“Now the shoe is on the other foot, and Democrats are going to have to be accountable for every insane, antisemitic — frankly at times, racist — things that come out of some of the folks’ mouths,” he continued.
Trump framed his message as a warning on Friday, saying the far left was making promises it couldn’t keep.
“The Democrat party is in big trouble because this isn’t stopping with New York,” he said while speaking at the Faith and Freedom Coalition’s annual policy conference.
“It’s too easy to get elected, giving everything away,” he continued. “It’s easy for them to get followers because they make promises they know they can’t keep.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt doubled down on Trump’s remarks on Monday, arguing the midterms would be a choice between “communism and common sense.”
“I know the president and many Americans are extremely concerned how far left the Democrat party is moving,” Leavitt said in an interview with Fox News’s “Fox & Friends,” adding, “this is not your granddaddy’s Democratic Party.”
In a separate statement to The Hill, the White House said Trump would continue making the contrast with Democrats.
“The Democrats’ embrace of socialism and communism is an existential threat to our country. President Trump will keep calling out their radicalism and drawing a sharp contrast with his commonsense, America First agenda,” White House spokesperson Olivia Wales said in a statement to The Hill.
It has not been a perfect winning streak for the Democrats’ left flank in this year’s primary cycle. Progressives have seen losses in Maryland and Utah. And in New York, state Assemblymember Jordan Wright (D) defeated a DSA-backed challenger.
And there are some key primary elections yet to come.
Progressive Abdul El-Sayed is running in Michigan’s Democratic primary to face off against Republican Mike Rogers in one of the most competitive Senate races in the country.
The next big test for progressives will come on Tuesday when incumbent Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) faces progressive primary challenger Melat Kiros in Colorado’s first congressional district.
Democratic lawmakers were pressed on the messaging strategy over the weekend, with many noting that the progressive wins in New York City-area primaries cannot necessarily be applied to every race across the country.
“I think you’re going to have different candidates being nominated in New York City and suburban Connecticut,” Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) told NBC News’s “Meet the Press.” He noted that the Democratic Party has also nominated and won with candidates like Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger and New Jersey Gov. Mikie Sherrill.
“I want us to be a big tent party,” Murphy added. The Connecticut senator has been floated as a potential candidate for the 2028 presidential election.
Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) echoed Murphy’s point on CBS News’s “Face the Nation,” noting the economy and affordability issue will be the major deciding factor in races.
“In Virginia, in the House races, I’ve got four Democratic challengers running to flip red seats blue, who are focused on that same kind of cost and affordability agenda that led us to have a landslide win in state races last fall,” Kaine said.
Mamdani appeared unfazed when asked about Republican efforts to make him the face of the Democratic Party due to his left-leaning stances, telling ABC News in an interview, “Let them.”
“We don’t have to ask ourselves what life looks like if a socialist wins,” the New York City mayor said. “I won last November, and over the course of these six months, what we’ve delivered for the working people are the very things we were told were impossible.”
Add as preferred source on Google Tags Adriano Espaillat Diana DeGette Donald Trump Joe Gruters Karoline Leavitt Mike Rogers Zohran MamdaniCopyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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