GOP Red Wave? Tom Emmer Exposes Far-Left Socialists Masquerading as Moderates

Summary

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Podcast Summary: Brian Kilmeade Show

Episode: GOP Red Wave? Tom Emmer Exposes Far-Left Socialists Masquerading as Moderates

Date: May 27, 2026
Host: Brian Kilmeade
Guest: Congressman Tom Emmer (Majority Whip, MN)

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Episode Overview

This episode centers on the current political landscape heading into the 2026 midterms, focusing on rampant fraud in government programs, the economic consequences of progressive policies, and the prospects for a GOP “red wave.” Congressman Tom Emmer discusses the dangers of what he calls “far-left socialists masquerading as moderates,” government fraud cases, wealth taxes, rent control policies, and the importance of economic issues in the 2026 elections. The conversation highlights how Democrats’ policy approaches, according to Emmer and Kilmeade, are harming economic growth and distorting societal values.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Pandemic & Healthcare Fraud Scandals

[00:12–04:10]

• Fraud Crackdown in Minnesota: Recent healthcare fraud cases ($90 million) and the significant Feeding Our Future scandal ($250 million).

  • Emmer: “It’s 90 million in healthcare fraud. They defrauded, took money away from the disabled, from elderly, I mean children and it’s pathetic.” [00:41]
  • Comment on government response: Emmer praises President Trump’s efforts in organizing a task force.

• Prosecution & Recovery:

  • Vice President Kamala Harris (audio clip): “We referred over $22 billion in fraudulent small business loans back to the treasury for collection... $1.3 billion in fraudulent Medicaid reimbursements…” [02:33]
  • Kilmeade on program abuse: “There was a hospice on every block, on basically every corner.” [03:07]

• Lack of Oversight:

  • Kilmeade: “But the follow up, there was no follow up because that bond was broken…” [01:01]
  • Emmer: “We’ve known that there are these state run scams, right? They charge the federal government back for more than they actually incur.” [01:28]

• Systemic Problems:

  • Emmer: “Autism center fraud, there’s daycare fraud... one Somali fraudster would allege that they have your kids in their daycare, your kids aren’t in their daycare and they collect money for them.” [03:26]
  • On the housing stabilization fund: “Supposed to cost a couple million bucks... shut it down last October because it was like 400 million had been built out of that system.” [03:53]

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2. Rent Control & Socialist Policies in Cities

[04:10–06:23]

• New York City's Rent Control:

  • Kilmeade: Discusses Mayor Mamdani’s (fictional?) announcement to freeze rent and take over buildings, calling this a typical “socialist goal.” [04:20]
  • Emmer: “This is the projects, is what they do. When they subsidize this stuff and people don’t have an ownership interest... you will lose new opportunities, new buildings, because people aren’t going to want to invest.” [04:48]
  • Citing St. Paul, MN as example of failed rent control.

• Disincentivizing Investment:

  • Kilmeade: “Three supermarkets subsidized by the city... Well, that’s taxpayer dollars... Who are you going to raise them on? The rich people... they’re leaving.” [05:41]
  • Emmer: “They are leaving.” [06:01]

• Budget Realities:

  • Kilmeade: “Why are they getting behind closed doors and still not understanding that their budget’s not going to balance?” [06:02]
  • Emmer: “Because it’s your money and mine, Brian. They don’t care. They’re going to spend whatever they’ve got and they’re going to take more.” [06:23]
  • Using millionaires’ tax as an example — rich people leave, and the policy ultimately fails.

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3. Vilification of Wealth & Wealth Taxes

[06:54–11:53]

• Attitudes Toward Billionaires:

  • Discussion about Jeff Bezos being criticized for opposing higher taxes.
  • Mayor Adams quote: “We are talking about a city where one in four New Yorkers are living in poverty… what New Yorkers want to see is a tax system that recognizes the scale of this affordability crisis...” [07:33]

• Emmer on “Fair Share” Rhetoric:

  • Emmer: “A fair share and investment. These are buzzwords of the far left... If anybody wants to know how this really works, go and find a book... The Road to Serfdom, written by an economist named Hayek…” [08:06]
  • Emphasizes dangers of state-directed economic policy over free markets.

• Wealth Taxes and Migration:

  • Kilmeade: “Top 1% paying, I think 40% of the taxes, top 10% paying 60 to 70%... On the surface you might go, okay, what’s 1% more? ... But why so many wealthy are making sure they’re not in a state that has a wealth tax and they’re running out of California...” [09:35]
  • Emmer: “Because they can. Money will go to where it’s going to be treated most fairly under any circumstance.” [10:18]

• True Effects of Government Transfer Programs:

  • Emmer: “If you are making pre government transfer income of say $4,000, $4,500 this year and you qualify for every government program… you will actually be taking home between 40 and $45,000, which will put you in the bottom end of the third quintile... There’s your problem.” [11:13]

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4. Taxation of Unrealized Gains

[11:24–11:53]

• Kilmeade: “They want to have unrealized taxes on unrealized gains... So what are your thoughts about that?”
• Emmer, memorable quote: “That’s like completely. Forgive me, but it’s a scientific term that’s back ass backwards.” [11:53]

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5. 2026 Election Landscape & GOP Prospects

[12:19–15:33]

• Competitive Districts:

  • Kilmeade: “Most people think between, what do you say, 15 and 20 seats up for grabs? Do you see more than that?”
  • Emmer: “Realistically I think you’re in the ball 20 to 25.” [12:30]

• Impact of Redistricting:

  • GOP holding an advantage with 10 new seats, and more swing districts to contest. [13:17–14:30]
  • Emmer: “I like our chances. It’s about the economy. If the President concludes this thing, things start to settle down... you start to see gas prices come down, which they will. I like our chances.” [14:23]

• Democratic Leadership & Messaging:

  • Kilmeade: “If you talk to Democrats, have as much confidence behind the scenes as they have in front of the camera. King Jeffries basically is fitting himself for the gavel every day.” [14:30]
  • Emmer: “The man’s never gonna be the leader. He’s not a leader. They are deluded... What is their message? They don’t have one. Other than we hate Trump.” [14:40]
  • Emmer: “Well, just go to Virginia where you now have Tim Walls in a dress in the governor’s office. Abigail Spanberger. That is what they will do to this country if you let them run it.” [15:06]
  • On “moderate” Democrats — implying that some self-proclaimed moderates are actually pushing far-left policies.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Emmer: “I am a one legged man in a kicking contest right now. But we’re winning, right?” [00:12] (lighthearted opening)
• Emmer: “Thank God for President Trump.” [01:28, 01:41] (attributing fraud enforcement to Trump)
• Emmer: “Fair share and investment. These are buzzwords of the far left.” [08:06]
• Emmer: “If you are making pre government transfer income of $4,000, $4,500… you will actually be taking home between 40 and $45,000…” [11:13]
• Emmer: “That’s like completely. Forgive me, but it’s a scientific term that’s back ass backwards.” [11:53]
• Emmer: “He’s not a leader. They are deluded... What is their message? They don’t have one. Other than we hate Trump.” [14:40]

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Important Timestamps

• 00:12 – 04:10: Pandemic and healthcare fraud revelations and the crackdown in Minnesota.
• 04:10 – 06:23: Rent control, city intervention in housing, and economic migration.
• 06:54 – 11:24: Vilification of wealth, wealth tax, and effects on migration and economic growth.
• 11:24 – 11:53: Taxation of unrealized capital gains.
• 12:19 – 15:33: Redistricting, midterm prospects, leadership in both parties.

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Tone & Style

The discussion is energetic and critical, blending policy analysis with pointed humor and partisan commentary. Emmer and Kilmeade’s exchanges are candid, often employing colorful analogies and personal anecdotes to drive home political critiques, particularly of progressive and Democratic policies. The tone is forthright, combative, and at times tongue-in-cheek—reflecting the speakers’ conservative vantage point.

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Transcript

[Brian Kilmeade]

Hey, we are back and with me in studios majority with Congressman Tom Emmer out of minute, out of Minnesota. Great to see you, Congressman. I see you got a bad ankle, a bad Achilles, but you're playing hurt.

[Congressman Tom Emmer]

Hey, we're going to, we'll be fine. I am a one legged man in a kicking contest right now. But we're winning, right?

[Brian Kilmeade]

Yeah, absolutely. So, for example, I think the thing that comes to mind now is what a great job the Vice President's doing cracking down on fraud. I think 16 have been arrested in Minnesota.

[Congressman Tom Emmer]

Yeah, that was just last week. There were 15. And this one is separate from the Feeding Our Future scandal, which is 250 million largest pandemic fraud case in the country. This is now health care fraud, Brian.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Right.

[Congressman Tom Emmer]

It's 90 million in healthcare fraud. They defrauded, took money away from the disabled, from elderly, I mean children and it's pathetic. Yeah. Congratulations to the Vice President. He's doing an amazing job and really gotta commend President Trump for unleashing the task force, a strike task force on Minnesota.

[Brian Kilmeade]

See, the other thing that's interesting is they're getting the money back. In his press conference yesterday, he said, I'm bringing this money back and putting it back into the treasury. And the thing is, what stuck out with me when Stephen Miller said, you know, when these programs were put out there for people, whether it's food stamps or Medicaid, Medicare, it was kind of a mutual trust thing. You say, you need the money, we'll give it to you. But the follow up, there was no follow up because that bond was broken. In fact, people took advantage of it, especially during the pandemic.

[Congressman Tom Emmer]

Well, they've been taking advantage of it forever. And we've known that there are these, these state run scams, right? They charge the federal government back for more than they actually incur. So they get more federal funds on some of these programs. But this is a lot more egregious than just playing on the edges, Brian. These people were making millions and in some cases billions off of the American taxpayer. And that, that is just wrong. And it's time that it ended. And thank God for President Trump.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Did you hear about this when Waltz was being vetted as vice president for vice president?

[Congressman Tom Emmer]

Not from them. But I'll tell you what, we've been writing letters and trying to sound the alarm on this since at least 2017. In fact, when Donald Trump tweeted out that Friday night Somali fraudsters and he got attacked for the, you know, it's racist, it's Whatever. Guess what? I thanked him because what he did was he finally got the press interested in this, which is a national story. Now. Without him doing that, we probably would still be fighting. And now people are starting to see just how serious it is.

[Brian Kilmeade]

So here's what the vice president said yesterday. Cut 56.

[Vice President Kamala Harris]

We referred over $22 billion in fraudulent small business loans back to the treasury for collection. We deferred more than $1.3 billion in fraudulent Medicaid reimbursements that were coming from various states, particularly California. We put a six month hold on enrollments for new hospice and home health care providers because so many of the newer hospice providers, we're not actually providing hospice services, but we're just focused on fraud. So we're going to cut that out for a little bit and try to get to a place where we can actually certify that the people providing hospice services are actually providing those very necessary and important services.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Yeah, I mean, because they can't verify it. I mean, can you imagine this taking child programs, autism in your state and autistic specifically? I'm sure it's other places. And then hospice care. So the last lap of life, you have a bunch of empty hulks of buildings where no one's there. And there was a hospice on every block, on basically every corner.

[Congressman Tom Emmer]

Well, I think you're still just scratching the tip of the iceberg. He's talking about billions across the country. You talked about my state. There was autism center fraud, there's daycare fraud. I mean, literally where one Somali fraudster would allege that they have your kids in their daycare, your kids aren't in their daycare and they collect money for them. And by the way, you apparently have their kids and you're defrauding the government. But the Medicaid program, they had a housing stabilization fund which is supposed to cost a couple million bucks when they started it five years ago ago. They shut it down last October because it was like 400 million had been built out of that system. This was housing stabilization for homeless at all. This goes way beyond what we've even seen so far, as far as I'm concerned.

[Brian Kilmeade]

So we're seeing that now in New York because I'm sure you can't follow it with everything going on. But Mayor Mondani yesterday basically says the. We have the landlords are the problem. Okay.

[Commercial Announcer]

Really?

[Brian Kilmeade]

Landlords are the problem. So we're going to freeze rent. And for those who can't do it, if they can't make it, we will have the City take over those buildings. And in the big picture, Congressman, isn't that the goal? If they are too socialist, they want to take these buildings over. They want to rent them to people or give them away, charge taxpayer dollars to subsidize them. And you know how that's done in the past, just going back to 70s, 80s and 90s, all this stuff goes into disrepair, becomes a haven for crime because government can't run this stuff.

[Congressman Tom Emmer]

This is the projects, is what they do. When they subsidize this stuff and people don't have an ownership interest. You're right, Brian. Then you don't take care of it. In this, your mayor is reflective of a small slice of our population, but a very loud slice of the population that we need to be listening to. They need to be reminded what made this country great. By the way, St. Paul, Minnesota, I think, passed rent control. And within months after the local news was like celebrating this big movement. Within months they started reporting. You know what? These projects are stopping. The contractors are not moving forward. You will find it's not just that these buildings will go into disrepair and they'll become just cesspools, but you will lose new opportunities, new buildings, because people are going to want to invest. If Mayor Mamdani the commie is going to take over their project.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Right. And the thing is, too, it's just blaming landlords and you're subsidizing the buildings and then you build these supermarkets, they go, isn't that great? Three supermarkets subsidized by the city. Well, that's taxpayer dollars. And then you turn around and say, well, where are you getting the taxes? I got to raise them. Who are you going to raise them on? The rich people. Oh, the ones you vilified? Because they're leaving.

[Congressman Tom Emmer]

They are leaving.

[Brian Kilmeade]

So. So if I can play this out, and I'm not an economist, when you sit down and there's doors closed and you do this all the time, budget meetings. There's things you say on cam, not you, but people say on camera. And then they get in the room, the door close and go, how do we balance this budget? Why are they getting behind closed doors and still not understanding that their budget's not going to balance?

[Congressman Tom Emmer]

Because it's your money and mine, Brian. They don't care. They're going to spend whatever they've got and they're going to take more. Remember, I think it was your state, New York, that was one of the first to do the millionaires tax under the elder Cuomo when he was governor. I Think it lasted like 10 years. Somebody should go check it. But they found that most of that money moved to New Jersey, and they. They let it expire after that. Now it's all moving to Miami and Boca and all kinds of places in Florida.

[Brian Kilmeade]

So here is Mondami talking about Bezos. I like the fact a lot of times, and I wouldn't know what this is like, but billionaires, and I think Musk is going to be the first trillionaire. They don't want to say I'm a billionaire. You know, they. Because it's vilified these days. Ken Griffin's a millionaire, a billionaire a million times over, but he puts hundreds of millions of dollars into charity, too. You hire 9,000 people, they got to get apartments, they go out to dinner, they have kids, they're going to go into sports. The ripple effect on down. So you last so far. You have a situation where Bezos sat down last week on CNBC to talk about how ridiculous this vilification is. And Mondame answered yesterday, cut 37.

[Mayor Adams]

You know, I know a few teachers in Queens who would beg to differ. And I think that if I was worth as much money as he was, then I would probably say the same thing. The fact of the matter is that we are talking about a city where one in four New Yorkers are living in poverty, and we're hearing from one of the richest men that our world has ever seen about how he and others who make that kind of money shouldn't have to pay their fair share. And frankly, what New Yorkers want to see is a tax system that recognizes the scale of this affordability crisis and actually provides a way for city government to be able to invest in those same New Yorkers in the manner that we used to decades ago.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Fair share.

[Congressman Tom Emmer]

A fair share and investment. These are buzzwords of the far left. They want to invest your money. Remember, if anybody wants to know how this really works, go and find a book that everybody should have read at least as early as their freshman year of called the Road to Serfdom, written by an economist named Hayek back during World War II. He ran it to his elitist. He wrote it for his elitist buddies. He was an Austrian economist who was exiled to Great Britain during the war. And he. He wrote it to his Marxist Communist socialist friends who believed that the state. And this is Mandami, that the state can distribute scarce resources better than human effort. Right, because the idea was you have a central authority that will decide what. Where all these resources go, as opposed to people with their own hard work and talents making that happen. The free hand that Adam Smith talks about. And guess what? It works. As long as you're part of that central group making the decisions. When you're not, then, then you're in trouble.

[Commercial Announcer]

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[Congressman Tom Emmer]

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[Brian Kilmeade]

Majority Whip, time member, our guests and Congressman, when you look at a situation where you have the top 1% paying, I think 40% of the taxes, top 10% paying 60 to 70% of the taxes I saw, I think it was Marc Andreessen yesterday with Joe Rogan said that he's paying 60%. So for every $10 you make, you give away six. That's what Europe did with the whole wealth tax. Could you describe for our audience how damaging the wealth tax is? On the surface you might go, okay, what's 1% more? What's the big deal? But why so many wealthy are making sure they're not in a state that has a wealth tax and they're running out of California even before the referendum goes in?

[Congressman Tom Emmer]

Because they can. I mean, this is why, if you've got the resources, money will go to where it's going to be treated most fairly under any circumstance. And by the way, there's a book about a 200 page book called the Myths of Inequality. Do you know that in this country it is the U.S. census Bureau that defines wealth and poverty. They define wealth in this country as pre tax income. They define poverty as pre government transfer income. They then divide us up into quintiles. In this book they show you that a very small slice is the richest of the rich, but they include a huge number to pull up other people into that top quintile. In the bottom quintile, they show you this, that if you are making pre government transfer income of say $4,000, $4,500 this year and you qualify for every government program that's out there, you will actually be taking home between 40 and $45,000, which will put you in the bottom end of the third quintile with people who are husbands, wives, working their Tails off just to make ends meet. There's your problem.

[Brian Kilmeade]

So here's the thing. When you have investors and they have stocks, so they hold Nvidia, let's say the top five, they want to have unrealized taxes on unrealized gains. So I didn't cash in. Yo, you and I, let's say we're lucky enough to hold those big five stocks meta and we had a good year. Right. They want to tax on that year. Now, even though you haven't cashed out on that, you haven't even maybe take dividends on that cash and then if it's a bad year, you don't get any money back. So what are your thoughts about that?

[Congressman Tom Emmer]

Well, you remember the cartoon Popeye where the guy would say I'll gladly pay you on Tuesday for a hamburger today. Well now our government is saying I'll gladly give you your hard earned gain after you pay today. I mean literally they're saying you give us the money before you earn anything. That's like completely. Forgive me, but it's a scientific term that's back ass backwards.

[Brian Kilmeade]

I understand it. So just looking at your fortunes, you did every seat matters. I think most people think between, what do you say, 15 and 20 seats up for grabs? Do you see more than that? Do you think it's 30?

[Congressman Tom Emmer]

Well there are over 20 democrats who won by 5 points or less in the last presidential election. So those would be considered swing seats of that. But realistically I think you're in the ball 20 to 25.

[Brian Kilmeade]

So if you look at that knowing yesterday, it looks as though South Carolina says we're not going to get rid of the one seat. So the Clyburn state stands for the midterms and I believe Alabama the same thing. You're not going to get that extra seat, but you did have big gains. It looks like Florida will stand just as my people. Tell me about the courts. We know Virginia was halted, so that's

[Congressman Tom Emmer]

not going to happen.

[Brian Kilmeade]

And we know Texas was sustained and Louisiana, we're still waiting, but it looks like Louisiana. So your thoughts about holding the House with gas up so high and an unpopular war going on right now? Somewhat in hyperspace.

[Congressman Tom Emmer]

Yeah. First it is going to be about the economy. Affordability is a made up term. It is another term for the economy. One Democrat commentator years ago said it's about the economy, stupid. It will be again when we get to next fall. But we've never lost an election in May. The economy right now is doing better than people even know. The focus has Been on gas prices,

[Brian Kilmeade]

still had a lot of people traveling in Memorial Day.

[Congressman Tom Emmer]

It's a big deal, right? I mean, most people that will decide this election are trying to pay a mortgage, put food on the table, clothes on the kids. They're thinking about the family vacation location they're going to take this summer. And if it's at 4,50 to $6 a gallon, it's going to affect what they do. It'll be the end of the summer though, when hopefully this all comes together. And I like our chances, Brian. After redistricting, we've got a two to one advantage. We've got 10 new seats, they've got five. Four of those are in California. They've got one of our seats, California 22. David Valadao. That is a Trump plus 1.7. That is a swing seat. We've got five of theirs. I like our chances. It's about the economy. If the President concludes this thing, things start to settle down so people can focus on the good news that's in the economy and you start to see gas prices come down, which they will. I like our chances.

[Brian Kilmeade]

So, I mean, but if you talk to Democrats, have as much confidence behind the scenes as they have in front of the camera. King Jeffries basically is fitting himself for the gavel every day.

[Congressman Tom Emmer]

The man's never gonna be the leader. He's not a leader. They are deluded. Ask yourself, who is the Democrats leader nationally? They don't have one. Is it Tim Wal Walls? Absolutely not. He's got to go to Spain now to get somebody to listen to him. And what is their, what is their message? They don't have one. Other than we hate Trump.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Right.

[Congressman Tom Emmer]

It doesn't work.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Yeah, I don't, I don't know what they would do different. I mean, they are talking about raising taxes, which is usually not a popular thing to do.

[Congressman Tom Emmer]

Well, just go to Virginia where you now have Tim Walls in a dress in the governor's office. Abigail Spanberger. That is what they will do to this country if you let them run it.

[Brian Kilmeade]

But unlike what's happened with Platner and what's happening with Momdami and the Seattle mayor, they said they were socialists. The scary thing with her, she said she was moderate. So that's what I find really worrisome as an American. Majority Whip. Tom Emmer, thanks so much for coming in.

[Congressman Tom Emmer]

All right, thank you.

[Brian Kilmeade]

Great to see you. Talk to you. Talk to you again soon.