--- title: "Tom Emmer calls Democratic candidates communists on ABC's 'This Week'" publication: "MediaBias News" url: "https://mediabias.news/politics/tom-emmer-calls-democratic-candidates-communists-on-abcs-this-week" api: "https://mediabias.news/api/v1/stories/tom-emmer-calls-democratic-candidates-communists-on-abcs-this-week" markdown: "https://mediabias.news/politics/tom-emmer-calls-democratic-candidates-communists-on-abcs-this-week.md" audio: "https://mediabias.news/api/audio/tom-emmer-calls-democratic-candidates-communists-on-abcs-this-week" category: "Politics" area: "United States" published: "2026-10-12T03:25:15.743Z" source_reported: "2026-10-12T02:15:39.000Z" updated: "2026-10-12T03:25:15.743Z" trust_score: 68 critic_score: 87 hype_score: 35 assessment_type: "coverage-and-source-reporting-analysis" fact_check_status: "not-performed" coverage_measured: "2026-10-12T05:30:17.082571+00:00" --- # Tom Emmer calls Democratic candidates communists on ABC's 'This Week' *House Majority Whip clashed with host Jon Karl over the characterisation of candidates in the upcoming midterm elections.* **Scores for the source reporting** (0-100, assessing the original journalism this article was written from, not this write-up): - Trust 68 of 100, higher is better. Trust 68: multiple named sources and independent outlets, but no documents or sourced figures. - Craft 87 of 100, higher is better. Critic 87: clear context, quotes from both sides, specific names and figures, cohesive story. - Hype 35 of 100, lower is better. Hype 35: headline matches content; language is strong but not exaggerated beyond reported statements. Scored by MediaBias News; method at https://mediabias.news/methodology. **The short version** - House Majority Whip Tom Emmer stated on ABC's 'This Week' that Democratic candidates are communists. - Host Jon Karl challenged Emmer's assertion, suggesting there were not many communists on the ballot. - Emmer claimed the Green New Deal would cost American families an additional $355,000. - Emmer also criticised current gas and diesel prices, calling them unacceptable. House Majority Whip Tom Emmer said on ABC's “This Week” on Sunday that Democratic candidates are communists. Host Jon Karl responded that there are not many communists on the midterm ballot. Emmer claimed that the Green New Deal would cost every American family an additional $355,000. He also stated that gas prices were $4 per gallon and diesel $6 per gallon, calling these prices unacceptable. ## Disagreement on candidate labels Tom Emmer stated that Democratic candidates are communists. Jon Karl replied that most Democrats would say they are not communists and that there are not many communists on the ballot. Emmer interrupted Karl, stating, "Well you’re wrong, they are communists." Karl conceded that there were some Democratic socialists on the ballot, but Emmer rejected the idea, saying, "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." ## What the coverage left out None of the right-rated reports mention the specific cost estimate for the Green New Deal that Emmer provided, stating it would cost every American family an additional $355,000. The reports also do not mention Jon Karl's specific response about the number of communists on the ballot beyond his initial pushback. ## Who covered it Shares of the 7 covering outlets with a published leaning rating: - Left: 0% (0) - Centre: 0% (0) - Right: 100% (7) 0 of 7 covering outlets carried no usable leaning rating and were excluded from those percentages. Coverage measured 2026-10-12T05:30:17.082571+00:00. **Coverage watch:** developing. Checked 10 times; 0 checks found a material change. Most recently checked 2026-10-12T05:45:16.700Z. ## How the sides framed it ### Left No separate framing summary. ### Centre No separate framing summary. ### Right - The right-rated reports focused on House Majority Whip Tom Emmer's assertion that Democratic candidates are communists. They highlighted his exchange with ABC host Jon Karl, who pushed back on the characterisation. The reports noted Emmer's claims about the cost of the Green New Deal, stating it would cost American families an additional $355,000. The right-rated reports also included Emmer's comments on gas prices, which he described as unacceptable at $4 per gallon for gas and $6 per gallon for diesel. Some reports included direct quotes from Emmer and linked to his social media posts where he reiterated his claims about socialists and communists. The reports also mentioned Emmer's criticism of mainstream media coverage of inflation and gas prices under different administrations. **Provisional coverage gap:** left. The watch is not closed, so this is not yet a settled blindspot finding. ## Factuality profile of the covering outlets These are published factuality ratings of the outlets, not a verdict on whether this story or its claims are true. - low: 2 - mixed: 5 ## Verification scope This page compares coverage and scores the source reporting. It is not a ClaimReview verdict on whether the underlying event or claim is true. ## Original reporting this was written from - [Next News Network](https://nextnewsnetwork.com/2026/10/12/watch-abcs-jonathan-karl-smirks-that-communists-arent-on-the-ballot-tom-emmer-to-mv4o2p0r) — ABC's Jonathan Karl Smirks That Communists Aren't on the Ballot — Tom Emmer Torches Him on Live TV - [The Beltway Report](https://thebeltwayreport.com/2026/10/emmer-clashes-with-abcs-jon-karl-over-communist-label-for-democratic-candidates) — Emmer Clashes With ABC’s Jon Karl Over ‘Communist’ Label for Democratic Candidates - [nytimespost.com](https://nytimespost.com/tom-emmer-tells-jon-karl-there-are-communists-on-the-midterm-ballot-in-heated-abc-exchange) — Tom Emmer tells Jon Karl there are 'communists' on the midterm ballot in heated ABC exchange - NEW YORK TIMES POST - [democraticaccent.com](https://democraticaccent.com/tom-emmer-tells-jon-karl-there-are-communists-on-the-midterm-ballot-in-heated-abc-exchange) — Tom Emmer tells Jon Karl there are 'communists' on the midterm ballot in heated ABC exchange – Democratic Accent - [Fox News](https://foxnews.com/media/tom-emmer-tells-jon-karl-communists-midterm-ballot-heated-abc-exchange) — Tom Emmer tells Jon Karl there are 'communists' on the midterm ballot in heated ABC exchange - [RedState](https://redstate.com/bobhoge/2026/10/11/liberal-anchor-drops-a-clownish-line-about-communists-house-majority-whip-steamrolls-him-on-air-n2208026) — Liberal Anchor Drops a Clownish Line About Communists. House Majority Whip Steamrolls Him on Air. - [wfmd.com](https://wfmd.com/2026/10/11/tom-emmer-tells-jon-karl-there-are-communists-on-the-midterm-ballot-in-heated-abc-exchange) — Tom Emmer tells Jon Karl there are ‘communists’ on the midterm ballot in heated ABC exchange ## Questions **What did Tom Emmer say about Democratic candidates?** House Majority Whip Tom Emmer stated on ABC's 'This Week' that Democratic candidates are communists. He argued that there is nothing democratic about socialism and that these candidates are socialists, communists, and Marxists. He cited policies like defunding the police and government-only healthcare as examples. **What was the cost estimate for the Green New Deal mentioned?** Tom Emmer claimed during the interview that the Green New Deal would cost every American family an additional $355,000. This figure was presented as part of his argument against the policies advocated by some Democratic candidates. **What did Jon Karl say in response to Emmer?** ABC host Jon Karl pushed back against Tom Emmer's characterisation of Democratic candidates as communists. Karl suggested that most Democrats would not identify as communists and that there were not many communists on the midterm ballot. He conceded that some Democratic socialists were running. --- MediaBias News — https://mediabias.news. Reproduced from https://mediabias.news/politics/tom-emmer-calls-democratic-candidates-communists-on-abcs-this-week. Please cite as: MediaBias News, "Tom Emmer calls Democratic candidates communists on ABC's 'This Week'", https://mediabias.news/politics/tom-emmer-calls-democratic-candidates-communists-on-abcs-this-week