The GOP Fights Communism While Voters Fight Grocery Bills

In a fiery speech to religious conservatives in late June, President Trump claimed "communists" are seizing control of the Democratic Party with the goal of destroying traditional American life. Within days, Vice President Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnson joined in, with Johnson calling progressive candidates "self-described, self-identifying Marxists". 

In late July, President Trump stood on a stage at a General Motors test facility in Milford, Michigan, and turned it into a campaign rally. The president touted jobs, investment, and tax cuts. The crowd cheered even as polls showed Americans souring on his handling of the economy.

Trump has repeatedly tied the "communist" label to specific 2026 races and speeches, escalating the rhetoric each time. Republicans are reportedly building an entire midterm convention in Dallas around the theme, fully embracing Trump's "communist" branding of Democrats. Even the GOP's own leadership seems uneasy about the leftward shift. RNC chair Joe Gruters has warned of a "pending, looming disaster" in November.

One GOP operative admitted the line "isn't exactly our rallying cry, but if it keeps Trump actually focused and talking about midterms, we'll take it." It's a message built less on economic confidence than on the reality that Republicans have struggled to defend Trump's economic record. Meanwhile, DSA-backed candidates have won nearly half their primary races this cycle, giving the attack a real, if exaggerated, target.

Lost in the "communist" framing is what Americans are genuinely afraid of: affordability. Rising housing, health care, and wage pressures have driven some voters toward DSA supporters' pitch that stronger labor protections and expanded public services offer a real alternative to the status quo.

Fear-based messaging has moved American voters before, and "socialism" still carries genuine stigma for many. It also offers Republicans a unifying message when their economic story is mixed, and it shifts the conversation away from the economy. But the rhetoric depends on a Cold War-era gut reaction that's fading with the electorate itself. Baby Boomers, who grew up with the Cold War as an everyday political reality, are shrinking as a share of voters. Younger generations have no memory of hiding under their desks during nuclear bomb drills or the fall of the Berlin Wall. For voters under the age of 40, the Cold War was not an experience but a history paper. Republicans cling to a 20th-century rulebook, while fighting a 21st-century political race. 

Meanwhile, these young voters face a stark economic reality with a new world order. Credit card debt hit $1.26 trillion in the second quarter of 2026, nearing an all-time record, with delinquencies climbing as households lean on cards to get by. More than one in four working-age adults used credit cards to buy groceries in 2025 and struggled to repay the balance. Nearly 1 in 10 working-age adults used Buy Now, Pay Later plans to cover groceries, and roughly a third of them missed a payment. Unlike one-time purchases like furniture, grocery debt is recurring and unavoidable, which can trap households in an indefinite cycle of borrowing just to keep affording food. 

Republicans are running on fear, while DSA-backed Democrats, whatever one thinks of their politics, are running on a clear solution tied to concrete policies. They offer specific proposals aimed at the exact costs squeezing families right now, from groceries to housing to health care.

One strategy asks voters to be afraid. The other asks them to believe something can change. For an electorate carrying record credit card debt and financing groceries just to get by, a message with no plan attached to it is a much harder sell than one that at least points toward a solution, however controversial. Fear can drive people to the polls, but it doesn't pay down a credit card balance or lower a grocery bill, and voters increasingly know the difference.

Disclosure: I donated to and voted for Melat Kiros in Colorado’s 1st Congressional race for the 2026 primary.

Written with AI assistance; edited and fact-checked by the author.

Photo credit: by Ahmed from Unsplash