A GOP leader's recent warning about the Democratic Party and a "Bolshevik takeover" left onlookers baffled.
On Tuesday, House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (R-LA) spoke about the upcoming elections and invoked a Red Scare with his cautionary words about the Democratic Party.
"The Bolshevik takeover of the Democratic Party is in full swing," Scalise said. "Communism is on the ballot this November."
Trump has been making similar warnings ahead of the midterms. However, online critics were more confused by Scalise's choice of words than they were scared.
"What is happening here?" former federal prosecutor Joyce Vance wrote. "Seriously. Bolshevik?"
"This communism stuff comes across as so desperate," legal and political analyst Joe Patrice reacted.
"Hitler used 'Bolsheviks' and 'communists' almost interchangeably with 'the Jews,'" Canadian political commentator Jim Stewartson posted. "That was a relatively short time after the actual Bolshevik Revolution. McCarthy's red scare was during the Cold War. Scalise's excuse is Mamdani. It's so embarrassing."
"Brother we just want affordable healthcare," commented popular internet personality Jared Shult.
"If the election is about inflation, war, the economy and @realDonaldTrump, the Republicans will lose the House and, possibly, the Senate," wrote former Obama White House official David Axelrod. "So this is their mantra for fall!"
"Bolshevik? How Retro, a return to the original Fascist counter-revolutionary rhetoric and action," author Ruth Ben-Ghiat posted. "Conjuring Communism in all its forms is apparently the new MAGA propaganda theme."
"Folks, be prepared," warned political commentator and former GOP strategist Tara Setmayer. "It's starting already. This is the GOP's strategy to distract from Trump's failures and their complicity. However, do not underestimate the effectiveness of the scare tactic without a proper strategy to combat it. Remember 'they/them?'"