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

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.

The clash began after Emmer conceded the Republican Party needed to make an effort to lower gas prices ahead of the midterm elections.

“I would say this on that, $4 gas, $6 diesel, entirely unacceptable,” Emmer said. “We Republicans agree on that. But it’s not enough to vote for communists.”

“I think most Democrats would say they’re not communists,” Karl replied with a chuckle. “So, there aren’t a lot of communists on the ballot in these midterms.”

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House Majority Whip Tom Emmer sparred with ABC’s “This Week” host Jon Karl over his labeling Democrats as communists. (Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

“Well you’re wrong, they are communists,” Emmer interrupted.

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.

“Jon, you just called them what they want you to call them. There’s nothing Democratic about socialism. For 100 years, they wanted us to call them progressives, when, in fact, they were socialists. And it wasn’t cool to admit you’re a socialist. They are now communists and Marxists. Take a look at the [Democratic Socialists of America] platform,” Emmer said.

Karl again attempted to change topics, but Emmer continued.

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“They want to defund the police. They want to defund prisons. They want government-only health care. And they want the Green New Deal, which will cost every American family another $355,000. That’s what we should be talking about,” Emmer said.

The Democratic Socialists of America has backed several candidates ahead of the midterm elections. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images North America)

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.

“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? 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. It’s closer to $4. It’s about 13 percent below what Joe Biden had. Grocery inflation. Under Biden, it was 13-point-something. Under Donald Trump, it’s two percent. It’s 11 points better. But you guys don’t report this stuff. So, I’m not saying the American people don’t get it. They don’t get the truth from the people that are reporting it,” Emmer said.

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Fox News Digital reached out to Emmer and ABC News for 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.” He especially took issue with Democratic Michigan Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, though he has denied being a socialist.

Rep. Tom Emmer previously accused Democrats of pushing “communists, Marxists and anarchists” in an interview with Fox News Digital. (Eric Lee/Getty Images)

“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. “These people are anti-American more than anything else.” 

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Emmer’s comments come as dozens of Democratic Socialists of America-backed candidates run for office during the midterm elections.