Rick Perry’s mostly lapdog interview on Fox News turned suddenly contentious when he began criticizing Donald Trump.
Perry attacked President Obama over Cuba, Iran and more, without much pushback from Payne. He did mildly challenge Perry’s boast about Texas’ robust economy, noting that “critics would say” that “oil went through the roof for a long period of time and you guys just rode that gravy train.” Then he dropped it after Perry responded.
Perry also spun his own education record without any pesky questions over doubts that have been raised about the statistics. Perry bragged:
"When you look at what happened in Texas over the course of the decade-plus that I was Governor, you saw both educationally and particularly, they have the number one highest high school graduation rates in America, are in Texas. We went from 27th in the nation, on our average, to second highest overall, with African American and Hispanic being the number one graduation rates in America."
But a September, 2014 New York Times article reveals there are plenty of reasons to question that rosy scenario:
But the state’s headway with graduation rates has not been matched by similar success in measures that track students’ college and career readiness, prompting questions about what it takes to earn a high school diploma.
… “I’ve encountered too many of our students who are functionally illiterate,” said Mike Morath, a trustee of the (Dallas) district, the state’s second-largest. “If your standard for graduation is the standard needed for success in college after graduation, then the graduation rates should be nowhere near where there are. They should be much lower.”
In an Aug. 28 ruling that found the state’s school finance system violated the Texas Constitution, State District Court Judge John Dietz of Austin said student performance on a “variety of metrics” indicated the state was “far from meeting its objectives” related to college and career readiness.
But Payne did not challenge a word.
Criticizing Donald Trump was another story.
“I don’t think he’s reflecting the Republican party with his statements about Mexicans. I think that was a huge error on his part and, number one, it’s wrong,” Perry said, when asked his opinion.
Payne interrupted. “He didn’t talk about people who are here legally,” Payne said.
That is just not true, as Jon Stewart hilariously demonstrates below.
Perry replied, “He painted with a very broad brush and I think that’s the problem.”
Payne interrupted again. “But are they sending bad people over here? Listen, I guess that’s the point. Because let’s face it, he’s resonating."
Payne acknowledged that corporate America is opposing Trump and that may reflect the general electorate “to a certain degree.” But, he added, “It’s just galvanizing and making Donald Trump a legendary figure within your party because he’s standing up, he’s not a politician and he’s not afraid.”
Perry shot back, “We want somebody that’s actually dealt with this before, not somebody that’s just going to shoot from the hip.”
See Fox News priorities for challenging a guest below, from the July 2 Your World. You can also watch Jon Stewart’s hilarious shredding of Republicans (including Fox pundits) who have defended Trump below, from the July 2 The Daily Show.