Trump says ‘jihadists’, communists being elected ahead of US midterms

US President Donald Trump has sought to cast the upcoming US midterm elections as a choice between his administration's policies and what he described as the radicalism of Democratic candidates, claiming that "jihadists" and communists were being elected across the country.

Asked what advice he would give Republicans ahead of the November elections, Trump said Democratic candidates would make it easier for his party to draw a sharp political contrast.

"Well, the one thing is we have jihadists being elected all over the place...We have this -- whether it's communism, jihadism," Trump said during an interaction with reporters at the White House on Monday.


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Trump did not name any specific candidate or identify the elections he was referring to. He said an acquaintance had suggested that he use the term "jihadist" to describe the political situation.

"A friend of mine called up and said, you know, really, you should use the word jihadist because that's what's happening," Trump said.

"People don't want to have radical lunatics involved in running our country, and that's what we have," he added.

Trump also accused unnamed Democratic candidates of seeking to dismantle key US institutions, including the Supreme Court, presidency and Senate.

"When you look at the radicalism and the craziness of the candidates and the stupidity of what they're suggesting, let's get rid of the Supreme Court, let's get rid of the presidency, let's get rid of the Senate," he said.

He further alleged that his political opponents wanted to cut funding for law enforcement and weaken the US military.

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"They want to defund our police, they want to terminate our military, no military, we don't want any military in our country," he claimed.

Trump did not provide specific names or evidence to support the claims during the briefing.

He also criticised politicians who had moved to the US from what he called "failed countries", saying they were attempting to tell Americans how to govern their country.

"They come from other failed countries and they come here and they tell us how to run our country," he stated.

Trump cited Somalia as an example but did not name any Somali-born elected official or candidate.

"They come from, let's say, as an example, Somalia," he observed. "They come in and then they tell us how to -- how our Constitution, how our Declaration of Independence, how it works."

Trump said he expected such candidates to enter the midterm race at a disadvantage, while acknowledging that his assessment could be wrong.

"I think that they start off now, I may be wrong, but, you know, they start off with a big disadvantage," Trump acknowledged.

The US midterm elections determine control of the House of Representatives and Senate halfway through a presidential term, along with numerous state and local contests across the country.

The elections are often seen as a referendum on the sitting president and the governing party. Trump's remarks indicate that immigration, national identity, law enforcement and national defence are likely to remain central themes of his political messaging ahead of the polls.

(With ANI inputs)