Trump leans on 'communist' messaging as economic angst drives Democrats
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He even shared a fake photo of the then-vice president speaking to a giant crowd bathed in red light and waving communist flags.

At the time, when pressed about the personal attacks, Trump defended the strategy – saying he had to run his campaign his own way.

"I think we're hitting a nerve," Trump said. "It's a different kind of race. All we have to do is define our opponent as being a communist or a socialist or somebody who is going to destroy our country."

Politicians have used the term communist as a way to attack political opponents for decades going all the way back to the 1950s.

It was during that period when Trump — who just turned 80 years old – grew up.

"This is in his bones," said Tevi Troy, a presidential historian and former White House aide to George W. Bush.

Troy said anti-communism was not only a bipartisan issue, it was also the dominant view in America.

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