House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) is being criticized for what opponents describe as “red scare” rhetoric attacking Democrats ahead of the midterm elections, as critics including Rep. Emmanuel Cleaver (D-MO) warned the GOP against “resurrecting that playbook.”
Johnson is portraying progressive candidates across the country as threats to democracy, pointing especially to Democratic Socialist Zohran Mamdani‘s win in the 2025 New York City mayoral election as a warning.
Johnson wrote this week, in a social media post highlighted with ALL CAPS: “For generations, our nation faced the threat of COMMUNISM overseas. Today, that same EXTREME MARXIST ideology is being championed in our own backyard by the Democratic Party. We REFUSE to let MINI COMMUNIST MAMDANIs take over the greatest nation in the history of the world. House Republicans are READY FOR THIS FIGHT!”
[NOTE: Some critics of Johnson’s rhetoric note that President Trump met with Mamdani in the Oval Office twice this year, and said there is “a lot” the two “agree” on.]
For generations, our nation faced the threat of COMMUNISM overseas.
— Speaker Mike Johnson (@SpeakerJohnson) July 14, 2026
Today, that same EXTREME MARXIST ideology is being championed in our own backyard by the Democratic Party.
We REFUSE to let MINI COMMUNIST MAMDANIs take over the greatest nation in the history of the world.…
As seen below at a press conference, Johnson warned: “What everyone needs to understand is these crazy little mini-Mamdanis who are popping up all over the country, they are a danger to you and your family.”
Johnson warned of Democrats like Mamdani: “If they offer you free stuff, there is far more beneath those promises that even some of these people do not understand themselves.”
Johnson said: “We’re not arguing over marginal tax rates anymore, we’re arguing whether or not freedom is going to survive.” He added, “We are in a philosophical war.”
.@SpeakerJohnson equates Democrats to Communists: "The barbarians are in the gate…These crazy little mini-Mamdanis who are popping up all around the country, they are a danger to you and your family." pic.twitter.com/d1ACy3R7nv
— CSPAN (@cspan) July 14, 2026
U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA) replied to Johnson and took a swipe at the GOP: “You want to play that game? You guys are fascists—trying to overturn elections to steal power, killing Americans in the streets, dehumanizing immigrants, handing power to a tyrant, and murdering innocent school girls with your illegal war in Iran. And by the way—Trump wants the government to run gas stations and buy private companies. Sounds pretty communist to me.”
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