Trump rails against ‘communist’ Democrats as he rolls out red carpet for Xi

President Donald Trump has repeatedly identified communism as the most significant threat facing the United States. Only months ago, citing grave concerns, he delivered a rare primetime address to accuse China of "sinister election meddling" in the 2020 election while continuing his years-long effort to challenge the outcome of that vote.

Yet even as he seeks to portray Democrats as communists ahead of November’s midterm elections, the president is welcoming Chinese President Xi Jinping—the leader of the world’s most powerful communist country—for an official state visit this week.

The state visit comes as the president has increasingly directed his administration to take large stakes in private companies to stimulate the economy, a move some Republicans decry as corporate socialism. The contradictions between Trump’s rhetoric and his administration's actions risk blurring Republican attack lines against Democrats.

"I do think that we’re not offering a clear contrast," said Marc Short, who served as chief of staff to former Vice President Mike Pence and worked in Trump’s White House during his first term.

During the recent Republican midterm convention in Dallas, the president repeatedly branded Democrats as communists, declaring, "It’s going to be a communist country if they win."

He added: "In state after state, the Democrat establishment has been overthrown and replaced by crazed lunatics and radicals," before asserting, "America has beaten communism before, and we will beat it again."

Those comments referred to candidates aligned with democratic socialists who won Democratic primaries in Michigan, Colorado, New York, Florida, and Pennsylvania. Trump and other Republicans argue these primary results show the party has grown too extreme, though they frequently exaggerate political realities.

The aggressive framing offers a way to shift the political narrative amidst several factors dampening the popularity of Trump and his party ahead of Election Day. These include an increasingly unpopular war in Iran, persistent inflation, and the president's approval ratings falling near historic lows.

At the same time, the White House has secured agreements granting the federal government equity stakes in more than 30 private companies, including chipmaker Intel, nuclear energy producer Westinghouse, and various metals and elemental firms.

The administration has disregarded criticism that this approach aligns more closely with centrally planned economies than traditional capitalist principles.

"If socialism is government owning the means of production, wouldn’t the government owning part of Intel be a step toward socialism?" Sen. Rand Paul, a Kentucky Republican and frequent Trump antagonist, posted on X.

During a recent House committee hearing, Connecticut Democratic Rep. Jim Himes told Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, "I can think of no administration in the last 50 years that is quite as communist as the Trump administration."

The president maintains that more government equity deals are forthcoming. "I will make deals like that for our Country all day long," he posted online.

The White House did not respond to questions regarding whether it identified any discrepancy between Trump criticizing Democrats as communists while expressing warm feelings toward Xi and having the government acquire substantial stakes in private firms.

Short, who currently serves as chairman of the conservative advocacy group Advancing American Freedom, said he believes Republicans raise "very legitimate attack lines" by framing Democrats as moving too far left.

However, he warned that the administration risks "picking winners and losers in the economy" through its corporate stakes, as well as with Trump’s proposal to distribute $5,000 to every adult American if the GOP retains control of Congress after November, alongside his call for price controls on items such as pharmaceuticals.

"I think those policies, you know, lead to enormous, enormous intervention from the government into the economy," Short said, though he emphasized that he does not believe the policies turn the U.S. into a socialist economy like China.

Even while criticizing Democrats for cozying up to communists, Trump has frequently boasted about his close relationship with China's leader, his primary global rival.

Following a trip to Beijing in May, the president spoke effusively about having "an amazing time." He has also highlighted building a helicopter landing pad that he called a "work of art" on the south lawn of the White House to impress Xi, while expressing regret that a new White House ballroom would not be finished in time for the state visit.

"I can tell you this: It’s too bad we don’t have the ballroom open," Trump said Friday. He also recalled visiting the Great Hall of the People while in China, suggesting the new White House ballroom could become the "Great Hall of the United States."

Trump’s admiration for Xi reflects his broader fascination with strongmen, according to Marc Selverstone, director of presidential studies at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center of Public Affairs.

Trump has also spoken warmly about his relationships with Russian President Vladimir Putin, Hungarian leader Viktor Orbán, and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un.

"His interest in strongmen who are communist and strongmen who are not communists," Selverstone said. "That’s constant, and playing to them is not unfamiliar to Trump."

Summits during an election season often feature a divide between high-stakes diplomacy and domestic political rhetoric. In 2015, while running for president, Trump criticized then-President Barack Obama for hosting Xi at the White House with full state honors.

"Just take them to McDonald’s and go back to the negotiating table," Trump told a crowd at a rally in South Carolina. He later conceded on Fox News Channel that Xi might be entitled to "probably a double-size Big Mac."

However, after winning the presidency, Trump’s tone shifted. By 2018, during a GOP fundraiser at Mar-a-Lago, he marveled at Xi’s power within communist China, saying, "He’s now president for life."

Trump temporarily appeared to set aside his soft spot for Xi during his July national address, when he announced the declassification of documents that he claimed revealed Chinese interference in U.S. elections.

"Our elections were left vulnerable to being rigged and stolen," Trump stated, though he avoided direct criticism of Xi or calls for sanctions against Beijing.

The released documents provided little new evidence and did not validate Trump’s claims. Days after the speech, the president sought to downplay the alleged meddling, stating: "It took place a long time ago. I think China is maybe a little bit different today than it was then."

Senior administration officials declined to say whether they would raise allegations of Chinese meddling in the 2020 election during Trump’s talks with Xi.

However, midterm election dynamics are unlikely to significantly affect the summit, according to Ali Wyne, a senior research and advocacy adviser on U.S.-China relations at the International Crisis Group.

"President Trump was very quick, in the aftermath of the (July) speech, to focus his ire on the mainstream media, Democrats. He didn’t condemn President Xi," Wyne said, adding that Trump made it "clear that the U.S. relationship was still on track."