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Tom Emmer tells Jon Karl there are 'communists' on the midterm ballot in heated ABC exchange

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Kornick, L. (2026, October 12). Tom Emmer tells Jon Karl there are 'communists' on the midterm ballot in heated ABC exchange. Fox News. https://www.foxnews.com/media/tom-emmer-tells-jon-karl-communists-midterm-ballot-heated-abc-exchange

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Fox News · collected 2026-10-12 · by Lindsay Kornick

Quick Summary

Tom Emmer, the House Majority Whip for Republicans, called some Democratic candidates “communists” during an interview with ABC’s Jon Karl on “This Week.” When Karl challenged Emmer by saying there aren't many communists running in midterms, Emmer insisted that Democrats are indeed communists and criticized their proposed policies such as defunding the police, prisons, and supporting government-only healthcare. Earlier in the same interview, Emmer accused mainstream media of bias in reporting inflation and gas prices differently under former President Donald Trump compared to President Joe Biden.
Written by AI on 2026-10-12, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

During an appearance on ABC's "This Week" on Sunday, House Majority Whip Tom Emmer accused Democrats of being communists in response to host Jon Karl’s comment that there aren’t many communists running for office this midterm. When Karl challenged Emmer by saying most Democrats wouldn't identify themselves as communists and noted the presence of some Democratic socialists on the ballot, Emmer insisted that calling them "Democratic socialists" was a deliberate attempt to avoid labeling their ideology correctly.

Emmer argued that Democrats have historically avoided using terms like socialist or communist due to negative public perception but now openly embrace these labels. He encouraged Karl and viewers to review the platform of the Democratic Socialists of America, implying it aligns with Marxist principles, thereby furthering his claim about the ideological direction of Democrats in this midterm election cycle.

Written for “Tom Emmer Midterm Debate” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Tom Emmer Midterm Debate
Politics · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads leans right and hedges 0% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
ABC News (US)
Hedges 2 of 17 claims Outlet record 67/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of Tom Emmer's appearance on ABC's 'This Week,' with Article A focusing on his comments about communists on the ballot and Article B on his defense of Trump's decision to lift sanctions on Russian oil.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
34
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
0%
0 of 34 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
Leans right
of the writing, not the subject · beta estimate
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 2026-10-12 · 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 · 6479 article(s) · 12 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 12 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Lindsay Kornick
53 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 "I would regret it if I didn’t take this opportunity," Murray said.
🔮 Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., criticized New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Michigan Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed over their views on Israel Thursday, calling their positions "wrong" and saying they did not reflect congressional Democrats.
🔮 When asked whether he would support using troops or drones, El-Sayed rejected the idea and suggested that the U.S. bears some responsibility for their rise.
🔮 " "PPS has and will continue to comply with all laws that serve and protect children," the district's statement read.
🔮 And in this Senate race, Abdul is the candidate who understands that and is willing to fight for it."
🔮 With both chambers of Congress, Hochul said Democrats could halt the "corruption" she alleged was occurring under the Trump administration.
🔮 The MS NOW host showed a clip of himself asking Whitmer over the weekend about what she thought about the "ugly recent rhetoric" levied against El-Sayed by Rogers and Trump, suggesting the attacks could be motivated by "xenophobia.
🔮 "I know it would sound crazy if I say none of the critique was valid, but I’m like, what is the critique?" Hannah-Jones told The New York Times during an interview on Wednesday.
🔮 "The top story from the 2026 cycle will be the electoral opening Democrats seized — and will have to maintain," Emanuel wrote for The Wall Street Journal.
🔮 Border czar Tom Homan has said that if the allegations are proven, Omar could be denaturalized.
Also by Lindsay Kornick
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 53 articles by Lindsay Kornick →

Topics

American Democratic Fox News Digital House Minn.

Subjects

Emmer PERSON · 13× Democratic NORP · 3× Donald Trump PERSON · 3× Joe Biden PERSON · 3× Karl PERSON · 3× American NORP · 2× Democratic Socialists of America ORG · 2× Fox News Digital ORG · 2× anti-American NORP · 2× House ORG · 1×

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
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-12
🔮 "I would say this on that, $4 gas, $6 diesel, entirely unacceptable," Emmer said.

Claims (34 extracted, 0 hedged)

House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, R-Minn., pushed back against ABC's "This Week" host Jon Karl after he insisted "there aren’t a lot of communists on the ballot" Sunday. asserted
he → push → ballot
The clash began after Emmer conceded the Republican Party needed to make an effort to lower gas prices ahead of the midterm elections. asserted
Party → begin → elections
"I would say this on that, $4 gas, $6 diesel, entirely unacceptable," Emmer said. asserted
Emmer → say → that
"We Republicans agree on that. asserted
We → agree → that
But it’s not enough to vote for communists. asserted
it → ’ → communists
"I think most Democrats would say they’re not communists," Karl replied with a chuckle. asserted
Karl → think → chuckle
" "Well you’re wrong, they are communists," Emmer interrupted. asserted
Emmer → ’re → ?
Karl conceded that there were "some Democratic socialists" on the ballot and attempted to move on to a new topic, but Emmer rejected the idea. asserted
Emmer → concede → idea
"Jon, you just called them what they want you to call them. asserted
you → call → them
For 100 years, they wanted us to call them progressives, when, in fact, they were socialists. asserted
they → want → fact
And it wasn’t cool to admit you’re a socialist. asserted
you → admit → ?
Take a look at the [Democratic Socialists of America] platform," Emmer said. asserted
Emmer → take → platform
Karl again attempted to change topics, but Emmer continued. " asserted
Emmer → attempt → topics
They want to defund the police. asserted
They → want → police
They want to defund prisons. asserted
They → want → prisons
They want government-only health care. asserted
They → want → care
And they want the Green New Deal, which will cost every American family another $355,000. asserted
which → want → 355,000
That’s what we should be talking about," Emmer said. asserted
Emmer → ’ → what
Earlier in the interview, Emmer also criticized mainstream media for framing inflation and high gas prices under President Donald Trump differently from how they reported them under former President Joe Biden. asserted
they → criticize → Biden
"I hate to point the finger at you and the other journalists, but have you reported that under Joe Biden, the average was over $5 a gallon? asserted
average → hate → Biden
Under Donald Trump, he’s pulled it all the way back, even with the action that had to be taken to make sure that Iran never has a nuclear weapon. asserted
Iran → pull → weapon
It’s closer to $4. asserted
It → ’ → 4
It’s about 13 percent below what Joe Biden had. asserted
Biden → ’ → what
Under Donald Trump, it’s two percent. asserted
it → ’ → Trump
It’s 11 points better. asserted
It → ’ → ?
But you guys don’t report this stuff. asserted
guys → report → stuff
So, I’m not saying the American people don’t get it. asserted
people → say → it
They don’t get the truth from the people that are reporting it," Emmer said. asserted
Emmer → get → it
Fox News Digital reached out to Emmer and ABC News for comment. asserted
Digital → reach → comment
Emmer made similar comments in an interview with Fox News Digital last week when he accused the far-left wing of the Democratic Party of being "communists, Marxists and anarchists." asserted
he → make → Party
He especially took issue with Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, though he has denied being a socialist. asserted
he → take → 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 asserted
who → say → everything
," Emmer said. asserted
Emmer → say → ?
Emmer's comments come as dozens of Democratic Socialists of America-backed candidates run for office during the midterm elections. asserted
dozens → come → elections
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