President Says Communism Threatens U.S. if Democrats Win Midterms

The president stated that communism would endanger the country if Democrats prevail in the November midterm elections. He made the remarks Wednesday at the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library in North Dakota and repeated similar language last week at a policy conference.

" The comments followed primary wins by candidates aligned with democratic socialism.

Experts said no candidate openly affiliated with the Communist Party has won state or federal office. They noted that even candidates supporting expanded social programs still back a market economy and do not advocate abolishing private property or imposing central economic planning.

Marc Selverstone, director of presidential studies at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center, said Democratic figures aligned with socialism remain distinct from communist principles. He added that the label is used to portray opponents as marginal.

A Democratic National Committee rapid-response director said the president is "grasping at straws" ahead of the midterms. A White House spokeswoman stated that Democratic support for socialism and communism poses an existential threat and that the president will continue to highlight what she called radical positions.

Communist Party USA co-chair Joe Sims said the party has roughly 20,000 members and that none of the recent Democratic candidates belong to it or follow its Marxist tradition. Darializa Avila Chevalier, a declared democratic socialist who won a Democratic nomination in New York City, has drawn attention over past social-media posts sympathetic to communist topics.