Trump Calls Democrats Communists While Hosting China's Xi

President Donald Trump has spent recent weeks telling Republican audiences that communism is the gravest threat the United States has ever faced, warning that a Democratic victory in November's midterm elections would turn the country communist. Yet this week he is hosting Chinese President Xi Jinping, the leader of the world's most powerful communist state, with full ceremonial honours.

The White House has not said whether the two leaders will discuss Trump's July primetime address, in which he accused China of "sinister election meddling" in 2020 and revived his long-running effort to dispute that year's result. The documents he declassified alongside the speech revealed little new information and did not substantiate his claims. Days later, Trump downplayed the allegation, saying it had occurred long ago and that China may be "a little bit different today."

At a Republican midterm convention in Dallas, the president repeatedly labelled Democrats as communists, declaring that the country would become communist if they won. He pointed to democratic socialist candidates who prevailed in Democratic primaries in Michigan, Colorado, New York, Florida and Pennsylvania as evidence that the party had moved too far left, though Republicans have overstated parts of that picture.

The messaging is intended to shift attention from a series of political headwinds: an increasingly unpopular war in Iran, persistent inflation and approval ratings that have fallen back to near historic lows.

At the same time, the administration has secured agreements giving the federal government stakes in more than 30 companies, including nuclear power producer Westinghouse, metals and elements firms and chipmaker Intel. Officials have dismissed criticism that the approach resembles central planning. Senator Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican, asked on X whether government ownership of part of Intel amounted to a step toward socialism. During a House committee hearing, Democratic Representative Jim Himes told Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent that he could think of no administration in 50 years as communist as this one. Trump has said more such deals are coming.

Marc Short, who served as chief of staff to former vice president Mike Pence and now chairs the conservative advocacy group Advancing American Freedom, said Republicans have legitimate lines of attack on the left but warned that the administration risks picking winners and losers in the economy. He also cited Trump's proposal to send $5,000 to every adult if Republicans keep control of Congress and his push for price controls on goods such as pharmaceuticals. Short said those measures fall far short of turning the United States into a socialist economy like China's.

Trump has frequently spoken warmly of Xi, describing an "amazing time" during a visit to Beijing in May and noting that he is building a helicopter landing pad on the White House south lawn to impress him. He has lamented that a new White House ballroom will not be finished in time, recalling his visit to the Great Hall of the People and suggesting the ballroom might be called the "Great Hall of the United States."

Marc Selverstone, director of presidential studies at the University of Virginia's Miller Center, said the president's admiration for Xi reflects a broader fascination with strongmen, including North Korea's Kim Jong Un, Hungary's Viktor Orban and Russia's Vladimir Putin.

Trump's tone toward Xi has shifted over the years. In 2015, as Barack Obama prepared to host Xi, Trump mocked the pomp of the occasion and suggested taking the Chinese leader to McDonald's. By 2018 he was marvelling at Xi's position, remarking at a fundraiser that Xi was "now president for life."

Ali Wyne, a senior adviser on U.S.-China relations at the International Crisis Group, said Trump was quick after his July speech to direct his anger at the mainstream media and Democrats rather than at Xi, and made clear the bilateral relationship remained on track. Senior administration officials declined to say whether the election-meddling accusation would feature in the talks.