Why are Republicans using the ‘anti-communist’ rhetoric against Democrats
US President Donald Trump has sharply escalated his warnings about a communist takeover of the Democratic Party ahead of November’s midterm elections, reviving Cold War-era rhetoric in a bid to radicalise his base and shift attention away from economic concerns.A Reuters analysis of Trump’s public comments from June 23 through July 6, when a string of left-wing Democratic candidates won their party’s primaries in New York, found he invoked communism 81 times, including calling some of the victorious candidates “hardcore, godless communists.”“Communism is the exact opposite of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It’s death, tyranny and the pursuit of evil,” Trump said at Mount Rushmore during 250th anniversary celebrations.“You’ve got to cut it out, and you got to cut it out fast,” he told a rally on Washington’s National Mall on July 4th.
Testing the message
Behind the scenes, Trump’s aides are testing the new message with focus groups. Preliminary findings suggest the rhetoric strongly energises Trump’s base and could boost turnout among infrequent Republican voters, according to two people familiar with the matter.But it appears less effective with independents, often decisive in closely fought contests, and younger voters who did not live through the Cold War.“I just don’t think that communism means the same for anybody under 55,” said Republican strategist Amy Koch.Strategists are also comparing “communism” versus “socialism.” Early findings indicate “communism” can be more potent in some races, while “socialism” may have broader appeal in paid ads and district-level messaging.
Progressive victories give Republicans a new target
The success of democratic socialists and other progressive candidates in Democratic primaries in Colorado, Kentucky, New York, Ohio, Texas and elsewhere has given Republicans a fresh line of attack: portraying Democrats as extreme rather than defending Trump’s record on tackling the high cost of living.Trump has been swift to label supporters of those proposals as communists. Many of the candidates, however, identify as democratic socialists who advocate pursuing progressive policies through elections, while communism seeks to abolish private ownership of property and create a classless society.Republicans see the message resonating in particular with Hispanic voters in Florida, where anti-socialist appeals have long found traction with voters whose families fled leftist governments in Latin America, and Texas.
‘Words are losing their meaning’
Calling his opponents “communists” is becoming Trump’s go-to rhetorical counterattack. But Democratic Socialists of America co-chair Ashik Siddique says the attacks are “really falling flat.”“It feels to us like words are kind of losing their meaning, and Trump’s attacks on this front are just really falling flat,” he says.A Fox News poll released in March found support for socialism is growing, with a record 38% saying it would be a good thing for the US to move away from capitalism. Among Americans under 30, 38% say they have a favorable view of communism, near par with the 45% who view capitalism favorably, according to a Cato Institute poll.“I could envision a world in which this backfires on Trump and people become more receptive to the idea of the left,” said Dalton Bouzek, an instructor of social media at SUNY Brockport, who studied “red-baiting” rhetoric.Representative Suzan DelBene, who chairs the House Democratic campaign committee, said Republicans were “resorting to desperate attacks that aren’t actually about the pocketbook issues.”Olivia Wales, a White House spokeswoman, said “Democrats’ embrace of socialism and communism” is an “existential threat to our country” and Trump will “keep calling out their radicalism.”
The contradiction: Trump’s state interventions
While Trump has ramped up his attacks against communism, his administration has overseen the most significant extension of government control over private industry since the start of the Cold War.The US government has a 9.9% stake in Intel Corporation and is the chip maker’s largest single shareholder. The government has warrants allowing it to purchase another 5% of the private company.The US has a 15% stake in MP Materials, making the Defense Department the rare earth producer’s largest shareholder. The Department of Energy has a 5% stake in Lithium Americas. Trump also allowed the acquisition of US Steel by a Japanese firm only on condition of a “golden share” giving the government veto power over some industrial decisions.Nvidia and AMD only obtained export licenses for their AI chips after they agreed to pay the US government 15% of their China chip revenue.