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Top Republican unloads on rise of 'anti-American' candidates heading into midterms: 'You got to be kidding'

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Miller, A., & Steinhauser, P. (2026, October 4). Top Republican unloads on rise of 'anti-American' candidates heading into midterms: 'You got to be kidding'. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/politics/top-republican-unloads-rise-anti-american-candidates-heading-midterms-you-got-be-kidding

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Fox News · collected 2026-10-04 · by Andrew Miller, Paul Steinhauser

Quick Summary

Rep. Tom Emmer, Republican House Majority Whip, criticized what he calls "anti-American" candidates in the Democratic Party during an appearance on Fox News Digital while campaigning for Paul LePage in Maine. Emmer specifically targeted Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, describing his views as anti-American and praising LePage's support of America instead. With six weeks until midterms where Republicans are defending fragile majorities amid economic challenges and unpopular approval ratings, Emmer emphasized that the Biden administration is responsible for current economic issues while highlighting Republican efforts to improve them.
Written by AI on 2026-10-04, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Rep. Tom Emmer, the Republican House Majority Whip, criticized far-left Democratic Party candidates as being "anti-American" during a campaign rally in Maine for Republican candidate Paul LePage on October 2nd. Emmer singled out Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, accusing him of supporting extremist views and expressing anti-American sentiments, such as describing NFL football as an example of toxic masculinity. Emmer argued that these candidates should be labeled as communists, Marxists, or anarchists rather than democratic socialists. With six weeks until the midterm elections and early voting already underway in some states, Emmer emphasized the Republican message focusing on economic issues while highlighting what he perceives as dangerous ideologies among certain Democratic nominees.

Written for “Republican Critique Of Candidates” on 2026-11-05, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Republican Critique Of Candidates
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 6% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
Daily Mail
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 0 of 26 claims Outlet record 69/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of the political landscape and do not describe the same specific incident.”
The Guardian
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 7 of 53 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss different political figures (Trump vs. Tom Emmer) and their reactions to left-leaning Democrats, without clearly reporting on the exact same incident.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
18
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
6%
1 of 18 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
withheld
no quote in the article backed the model's score
Publisher signals
68/100
Fox News's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Politics
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-04 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

Fox News · 6649 article(s) · 13 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 13 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Andrew Miller
46 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 The result could also give Nevada Democrats unified control of state government depending on Tuesday night's election results, with the party already holding majorities in both chambers of the state Legislature.
🔮 Jackson's victory will end Collins’ nearly three-decade career in the Senate.
🔮 Former Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown is projected to win his bid to return to the U.S. Senate, defeating Republican Sen. Jon Husted in Ohio just two years after losing his seat to Republican Sen. Bernie Moreno, the Fox News Decision Desk projects.
🔮 The group is asking the state to take "additional corrective action," warning it "may have no other recourse" but to appeal through the complaint process under the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), a 2002 election reform law, if nothing is done.
🔮 It's the latest signal that the political dam may be breaking as scandals and investigations into the congresswoman continue to pile up.
🔮 Fox News contributor Marc Thiessen posted on X. The New York Times report rocked the Alaska Senate race, which could determine the balance of power in the Senate, as questions now swirl over the legality of the campaign's alleged actions.
🔮 Sheikhdoon Abdullahi Mohamud, 18, was arrested and charged with knowingly receiving a firearm and ammunition while knowing or having reasonable cause to believe they would be used to commit a felony and federal crime of terrorism.
🔮 Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) is taking aim at the Democratic mayor of Columbus, Ohio, over a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that was signed with the African nation of Ghana promoting a joint nursing program.
🔮 'Officer Martinez down,'" he said while speaking to Democratic socialist and failed Minneapolis mayoral candidate Omar Fateh, who hosted the sold-out Minneapolis event.
🔮 Last month, Senate Democrats blocked a Republican-backed bill, the Stop Insider Trading Act, that would ban lawmakers from trading stocks, arguing it wasn’t strong enough.
Also by Andrew Miller
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 46 articles by Andrew Miller →
Paul Steinhauser
43 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 In the lead-up to the November midterms, the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) put its support behind California’s Proposition 40, a measure that would impose a one-time 5% tax on billionaires in the state.
🔮 In the battle for the House, thanks to the stunning blue tsunami, Democrats cleared the 218-seat threshold needed to recapture the chamber. But with plenty of races still outstanding, the big question is just how large a majority will Democrats end up with when all the votes are counted.
🔮 Abdul El-Sayed, who became the veritable face of this midterm cycle acting as the GOP’s boogeyman for Democratic policies across the country, is projected to topple former Rep. Mike Rogers in what was one of the most-watched contests of the election.
🔮 Jackson's victory will end Collins’ nearly three-decade career in the Senate.
🔮 With his victory, Crowley will succeed retiring two-term Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and makes history as Wisconsin's first Black politician elected governor.
🔮 Later in the campaign he unveiled a plan which he said would also lower the cost of healthcare, housing, home and auto insurance, electricity, and even higher education.
🔮 I never in a million years thought I would be running for federal office, let alone a US Senate seat, but I have 20 years of experience working inside America's broken healthcare system, coming face to face with all of Washington's failures in my hospital exam rooms.
🔮 Rep. Byron Donalds just made history as the first Black politician to win a gubernatorial election in Florida as Fox News Decision Desk projected the congressman winning Tuesday's election. He is also the first Black Republican in the nation's history elected governor.
🔮 The race was projected as a victory for Cooper with 57.63 votes counted, with 66.40% going to the former Democratic governor and 31.96% going to Whatley.
🔮 The Fox News Decision Desk projects that Democratic Rep. Chris Pappas of New Hampshire will defeat former Republican Sen. John E. Sununu in a competitive and expensive swing state race.
Also by Paul Steinhauser
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 43 articles by Paul Steinhauser →

Topics

Fox News Digital House Republican Senate anti-American

Subjects

Emmer PERSON · 5× House ORG · 4× Republican NORP · 4× Fox News Digital ORG · 3× Republicans NORP · 3× Senate ORG · 3× anti-American NORP · 3× MAINE GPE · 2× Paul LePage PERSON · 2× the Democratic Party ORG · 2×

Narrative

"This guy says ridiculous things like U.S. NFL football is an example of toxic masculinity, he supports a terrorist who believes that America deserved to lose 3,000 people on 9-11, and he's got this Piker guy who's just shooting his mouth off on everything anti-American," Emmer said.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-04
🔮 " With six weeks to go until Election Day and early voting already underway in a handful of states, the conventional wisdom is that Republicans may be in for some setbacks in the midterms.

Claims (18 extracted, 1 hedged)

Rep. Tom Emmer, on the first stop of a 56 district blitz across the country rallying Republican voters, spoke to Fox News Digital about what he describes as an "anti-American" sentiment in the Democratic Party and his party’s message on the economy. asserted
he → rally → economy
"We're not talking about socialists, these are communists, Marxists, and anarchists," Emmer, the Republican House Majority Whip, told Fox News Digital this week about the rise of far-left candidates in the Democratic Party. " asserted
Emmer → talk → Party
You got to be kidding. asserted
You → got → ?
They want us to call them democratic socialists, there's nothing democratic about these people." asserted
us → want → people
Emmer, who was in Maine campaigning for Republican House candidate Paul LePage, specifically took issue with Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed. asserted
who → campaign → Sayed
"This guy says ridiculous things like U.S. NFL football is an example of toxic masculinity, he supports a terrorist who believes that America deserved to lose 3,000 people on 9-11, and he's got this Piker guy who's just shooting his mouth off on everything anti-American," Emmer said. asserted
Emmer → say → everything
It's time that we have great candidates like Paul LePage, which is why I'm here, who loves his state, loves this country and believes in the promise of America. asserted
who → have → America
We should be out there celebrating it and defending it not tearing it down, that's why you vote for Paul. asserted
you → celebrate → Paul
" With six weeks to go until Election Day and early voting already underway in a handful of states, the conventional wisdom is that Republicans may be in for some setbacks in the midterms. uncertain
Republicans → go → midterms
As it defends its fragile House and Senate majorities, the GOP is fighting political history, which has traditionally seen the president's party lose congressional seats during the midterms. asserted
party → defend → midterms
It's also battling high costs at the grocery stores and gas pumps tied to what polls show is an unpopular war with Iran, as well as President Donald Trump's underwater approval ratings. asserted
polls → battle → Iran
But Democrats are saddled with their own issues, from an ideological civil war between the party's left wing and the establishment that has handed Republicans plenty of political ammunition, to a brand image that's nothing to brag about. asserted
that → saddle → image
Add to that the Democrats' major disadvantage as the GOP floods the airwaves with attack ads. asserted
GOP → add → ads
Fox News Digital asked Emmer what he would say to Republican voters in the current political climate in terms of defending the administration’s record. asserted
he → ask → record
"First off, remember, the Biden administration put this economy in the ditch, literally," Emmer said. asserted
Emmer → remember → ditch
"Inflation we hadn't seen in 40 years. asserted
we → see → years
Donald Trump and Republicans in the House and the Senate have been putting this economy back on track. asserted
Trump → put → track
We can talk about all the investment and everything else, but we have to be very sensitive to the fact that $4 gas, $6 diesel is unacceptable, but I would argue it still isn't enough to vote for a communist." asserted
it → talk → communist
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