US President Donald Trump has attacked what he called "radical atheist communists" in the United States, calling them a "cancer" that poses the "most serious threat" to his country since its founding, AFP reported.

A few months before the crucial legislative elections, President Trump stepped up his rhetoric against the progressive movement in the United States, saying, "These are hard-line atheist communists... All communists are atheists. This is the most serious threat to our country since it existed in my opinion."

With the Republican Party fearing defeat in November's midterm elections over the rising cost of living, Trump said in a speech in Washington to members of the evangelical Religion and Faith Coalition that "these are not social democrats, they are radical atheist communists."

Trump: Communists are cancer

"This is the most serious threat to our country since its founding," Trump added, as the United States marks the 250th anniversary of its declaration of independence this year, pointing to a "cancer" that simultaneously threatens the prosperity of the United States and religious freedom.

In his speech, Trump called progressives "animals in many cases" and added that they would "close churches and kill people," accusing them of specifically targeting Christianity, statements that observers have described as highly inflammatory and lacking any independent evidence.

President Trump joked that if he wanted to, he himself could have become "the greatest communist in history" and exempt Americans from paying rent, for example, but warned that his country would have suffered "extreme poverty" if it had chosen this path.

A number of candidates backed by New York City Councilman Zahran Mamdani won a Democratic primary in the city, which was seen as somewhat left-leaning among voters, and the member also made a political gain by passing a rent freeze of about one million homes in the city.

Trump's escalation ignites Washington

The circle of interaction in the United States widened after Trump's fiery speech, in which he not only attacked the left, but also linked it to a package of executive and legislative decisions that he is preparing to launch with the aim of reducing the influence of progressives within federal institutions and universities.

The speech came just a day after the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the termination of the TPS program for hundreds of thousands of migrants, including 6,000 Syrians and 350,000 Haitians, in what conservatives saw as a victory for the rule of law.

Trump has also threatened to cut off federal funding to universities that adopt curricula he considers "far-left," stressing that he will reshape the education system in line with "core national values."

Conservatives celebrated the speech as a necessary step to "restore American identity" and protect free speech for conservatives on campus, while Democrats and rights groups called Trump's remarks "inflammatory" and "dangerous," warning that using medical language such as "cancer" to describe political opponents threatens the foundations of democracy and deepens internal divisions.