Donald Trump has previewed a Republican strategy for the midterm elections, seizing on a progressive sweep in New York to portray Democrats as “godless communists” who pose an existential threat to the nation.
The US president, who was a child during the “red scare”, seized on wins by democratic socialists backed by the mayor of New York, Zohran Mamdani, to stoke fears that the Democratic party has embraced extremism that could lead to the violent persecution of Christians.
On Friday, Trump was addressing religious conservatives at the Faith & Freedom Coalition’s annual Road to Majority conference at the Washington Hilton hotel – his first appearance there since April, when he was rushed off stage after an assassination attempt at the White House correspondents’ dinner.
“I remember this place not so long ago,” he quipped. “Hopefully we’re going to have a little more pleasant experience.”
Trump hit some familiar themes in his address, defending his war in Iran, making false claims of election rigging and stressing the importance of Republicans retaining control of the House of Representatives and Senate in the November midterms.
He focused on Tuesday’s Democratic primary election results in New York, where three leftwing candidates endorsed by Mamdani, a democratic socialist who is the city’s first Muslim mayor, upset incumbent or establishment rivals.
The radical left “want to resume the transgender mutilation of children, they want to restart the war on Christians and churches, and as you saw with the communists elected in New York recently … they want to completely destroy the traditional American way of life,” Trump warned.
“Communism is very easy to sell. It destroys everything, but it is very easy. And I’ll be honest – I think I’d be the greatest communist in history.” Mockingly, the president said as a communist he could give free rent, houses and food but the country would inevitably fail after two or three years”. He said: “Everyone will suffer or die. That’s what happens.”
Trump, who has been the subject of three assassination attempts over the past two years, added darkly: “I’m sorry to say but the assassinations of those who oppose them is a very important element of their ideology. Assassinations are a big deal for them. They are animals!”
He described the election winners in New York as “very troubling people” and claimed without evidence that they “want to destroy our country, and they hate our country and our people”.
Republicans have spent months trailing in the polls as voters accuse Trump of breaking his campaign promises to lower prices and keep the US out of foreign wars. But party strategists believe they have spotted an opening in the rise of Mamdani, giving them an opportunity to tag the entire Democratic party with the most extreme views of the left.
“The Democratic party is in big trouble,” Trump said. “This is not stopping with New York.”
The president accused the Democratic party establishment of capitulating to the left. “They’re not smart enough or tough enough to fight the plague that is happening right before your very eyes … They are becoming a communist party – not social democrats. They are core communists.”
Preaching to a religious right audience, Trump emphasised: “All communists are godless. They do not believe in God … These ruthless communists attack all religions, but in particular Christianity. They always do. They’re after Christianity more than any other religion.” Trump noted the US military had intervened in Nigeria to save Christian populations who had been persecuted. Nigeria is not a communist country.
After referring to terrorists overseas, he then suddenly pivoted to say: “They will close your churches in this country. They go communist – and they’re trying to – they will kill your people and that’s what they’re about. They want to end religion. They have to end religion because their ideology doesn’t work if you have strong religion – people like you that are so incredible and love our country so much and love God.
“This is the greatest threat to our country since its founding 250 years ago.”
Trump was not the only politician at the conference who sought to appeal to a religious right that has long believed it is under siege from an increasingly secular America. Mike Johnson, the House speaker, told the Faith & Freedom Coalition: “Right now the foundations of America are under violent and unprecedented attack and you know that that is true.
“This midterm is going to be unlike any in history. There is a dangerous trend going on in the country right now. The best way to describe what I’ve seen is there are little mini-Mamdanis popping up all around the country running for Congress.”
As the audience burst into applause, Johnson added: “Some of the most radical people who have ever run for office are on the ballot in the fall and they’re running for Congress… The danger that we have right now is the energy, the excitement, the grassroots operation, the money is on the side of the insurgent left and they are openly running as Marxists, communists, for Congress!”
The speaker recalled that, during the cold war, then president Ronald Reagan had warned of the dangers of communism. “He was referencing something happening as a threat overseas. It’s now on our own shores, in our homeland.”
Johnson ran through a “greatest hits” list of leftwing candidates he claimed variously refused to say the pledge of allegiance, have ties to al-Qaida and other terrorists, want to abolish the border and police, seek to decriminalise “trans-prostitution”, apologised for being white, performed a Satanist wedding and stopped going to church because Trump supporters were present. “The insurgent left has taken over,” he said.
The conference was taking place little more than a week before the 250th anniversary of US independence. Trump admitted that the beleaguered Lincoln Memorial reflecting pool, which turned green due to algae growth after a $14.7m renovation, will not be ready in time. “We just inspected it,” he said. “We’ll fix it right after the Fourth of July. Got to let the water out. Just fix it.”
The president again blamed “vandals” for the problems. While no evidence has emerged to support his claim that a vandal cut a 350ft gash in the pool, a National Park Service official said in a sworn court statement that, on 9 June, park police examined apparent intentional damage to the pool.
Trump has shaken the faith of some supporters with unexpected moves in his second term. But others remain steadfast. Sandy Schoepke, who was selling Trump merchandise and bling jackets to conference attendees, said: “He’s doing absolutely fabulous. Whatever he does is OK with me.”
Tom Miller, 73, added: “He’s an awesome man. He’s breaking all kinds of records on the sacredness of human life and for religious liberty and for freedom.” Miller believes that Trump made Iran safer and commented: “Thank God he did what he did.”
Felix Angelastro, 65, who works for a Republican digital ad platform, said Trump was doing “OK” in his second term but described the Iran war as “troublesome”.
Asked if the president will lose support among his base, Angelastro replied: “I think he has already.”