Communism is not inherently left-wing. While there have been left-wing supporters of communist styles of governance, right-wing authoritarians have also adopted communism. China's leadership is one such example.

In the case of Marxist-Leninist "tankies" supporting communism, remember that authoritarianism and dictatorships are antithetical to leftism/progressivism by definition, making these tankies right-wing/conservative by definition (as right-wing ideology supports authoritarianism and dictatorships).

When a conservative equates communism with leftism (or makes any other illogical comparison), it's important to remember that every word uttered by a conservative is misinformation, deception or manipulation. Conservatives are always either victims of misinformation or are the intentional spreaders of misinformation. Always.

That is just the nature of conservative communication. Conservatives lead other conservatives by manipulation, which includes using misinformation to create fear and confusion. This leads to profound misunderstandings of concepts like communism, socialism or progressivism.