Trump and MAGA’s big Red Scare: A midterm ‘communist’ threat built on fear and lies

E very single indicator shows that Republicans are headed for an absolute disaster of a midterm election. Polling shows them potentially losing Senate seats in Texas, Kansas and even Iowa.

Every week, the generic ballot, which determines if voters would prefer a replacement-level Democrat or Republican for Congress, shows Democrats gaining a lead with almost every survey. Gas prices continue to climb and the Federal Reserve raised interest rates this week.

And that has President Donald Trump and his lockstep Republican leadership drawing from an ancient well: Fear-mongering about ... communism.

Even the late Sen. Joe McCarthy, who effectively made red-baiting a brand in the 1950s, might be rolling his eyes if he weren’t rolling in his grave over MAGA’s broad definition of a communist.

During the unprecedented (for a reason) Republican midterm convention, the GOP frequently invoked communism and socialism, painting Democrats as all in thrall to the far left of the party. Plenty of them sought to tie the Democrats to Twitch streamer Hasan Piker, even displaying images of Piker in his underwear. And Republicans are seeking to paint Democratic challengers as all socialist or communist-obsessed.

“We've described that contrast in five words: common sense versus communist crazy,” House Republican Conference Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) told reporters during the House GOP’s weekly press conference.

“Karl Marx used socialism and communism interchangeably. He believed socialism was a step to get to communism,” House Speaker Mike Johnson said. “These these crazy candidates believe the same thing.”

Trump has used the same formulation in his rhetoric, reposting videos and images on his Truth Social account saying “DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISM MUST BE CRIMINALIZED; LEADERS DEPORTED!”

It’s tempting to think the Democratic Party is overtaken by socialists. A series of high-profile primaries throughout the summer showed members of the Democratic Socialists of America knock off Democratic incumbents in New York , Colorado and Michigan.

And Americans still remain largely allergic to socialism. A New York Times /Siena College poll shows that only 18 percent of likely American voters consider themselves democratic socialists. The same survey showed that while 38 percent of likely voters have a favorable opinion of New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani (who is set to meet with Trump at Gracie Mansion , the mayor’s residence, for a second one-on-one late Monday afternoon), the most prominent elected democratic socialist in the United States, 34 percent have an unfavorable opinion of the mayor and 22 percent don’t know or refused.

And Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), often seen as the most likely potential socialist candidate for president, has a 41 percent unfavorable rate.

But there’s one big problem: There is no impending socialist threat. Even with the victories of DSA-endorsed candidates and even left-wing Senate candidates like Abdul El-Sayed in Michigan, moderate Democrats far outpace socialist candidates.