A+ to former social studies teacher Tim Walz and F- to Fox News anchor Shannon Bream.

Vice presidential candidate Tim Walz, also the Democratic governor of Minnesota, returned to Fox News Sunday yesterday for the second time in two weeks. Anchor Shannon Bream once again threw a series of gotcha questions.

Near the end of the interview, Bream began trying to paint Walz as some kind of stealth socialist extremist: She quoted an Intelligencer article saying that Walz had a fairly conservative voting record in Congress, used that record to win the governorship, “then moved sharply to the left.” She then misleadingly quoted him, saying that “one person’s socialism is another person’s neighborliness,” adding, “Did you mean to advocate for [socialism] here in the U.S.?"

“No, no, Shannon. Look, I’m a capitalist, ” Walz replied. He explained that he was answering Republicans who call him a socialist: “We build our roads collectively together,” he explained. “I don’t think anybody’s arguing that you should have to build your own road from your house to your business place,” he said. He also pointed out that public schools and public health are other “things that we collectively do together.”

“I believe in moral capitalism,” Walz said. “I believe capitalism works when it lifts everyone up … but you certainly can’t have a capitalism that says billionaires get everything and the middle class gets nothing.”

Walz went on to say that Vice President Kamala Harris wants to lift up the middle class with an “opportunity economy.” “We want people to succeed and when you succeed all we’re asking is that you pay your fair share,” he said.

Bream’s response? To try to either make Walz look bad for using the word “socialism” or for being a secret socialist. “Did you not mean to use the word ‘socialism?’ Was it a knucklehead thing or did you mean to use it?” she "asked."

“No, it was what the right uses!” Walz shot back. Then he did what I think ALL Democrats on Fox should do: He turned the table: “Would you describe, Shannon, and your viewers that building roads is socialism?”

She answered that building roads is not “the government controlling all property.”

Walz went on to say that Kamala Harris is “doing just the opposite,” i.e. “creating a free economy that works and people can grow into the middle class.” He cited the Infrastructure Act as “creating massive private wealth because of building that out together.” Donald Trump, on the other hand, “skews things toward the wealthy,” Walz added.

Bream insisted otherwise. “IRS data shows that that did benefit every class of taxpayers,” she said. She forgot to mention that the tax cuts benefitted the top 1 percent and the top 5 percent more than triple the total value of the tax cuts received for those in the bottom 60 percent.

Then after getting that last, misleading word in, Bream moved on to Minnesota as a crime-ridden hellhole. She cited an anti-Walz (natch) opinion piece from The Wall Street Journal (another Murdoch media outfit) by “a longtime Minneapolis resident and attorney there.” She forgot to mention that the author, Scott W. Johnson is also a contributor to the right-wing site, Power Line.

Bream quoted from the piece, “Under Mr. Walz, Minnesota has become a high-crime state. Student achievement has tumbled as spending on schools has skyrocketed. Per capita gross domestic product has fallen below the national average. … Minnesotans have joined the residents of New York, California and Illinois in fleeing their home state.” She added that Johnson also “notes that you were elected by a much tighter margin the second time around than you were the first time because he says people are leaving with their feet and their votes and that they don't like the way that you govern Minnesota."

Just asking, right, Shannon?

Walz had a stellar series of responses: “Yeah, well I won by nearly eight points,” he said. He also surmised that the author is a Republican. Then he added, “Minnesota is recognized as a top five business state, top three state to raise children, we're number one in health care, crime in America is at a 50 year low, contrast that to Donald Trump's time in office."

"Well, they're talking about crime in Minnesota," Bream pushed.

"Yes, and you can look at the statistics you can see where we're at. We certainly know that during the Trump years we saw murders go up and things, but they're all coming down." 

FACT CHECK: Minnesota’s Department of Public Safety found that the total crime index was down 12% in 2023 over 2022, total violent crime down 7%, total property crime down 13%, violent crime rate down 7%, and property crime rate down 14%. It speaks volumes that Bream didn't have the facts at hand for the interview.

Also, as Time recently noted, Minnesota was ranked the sixth best state for business, fifth best for infrastructure, and fourth in quality of life in the CNBC Top States for Doing Business rankings. It also has a Triple A credit rating, leads the nation in renewable energy generation and has one of the highest real median household incomes."

Some crime-infested socialist dystopia!

Bream was not asking tough questions. She was trying to smear Walz with misleading propaganda. Shame on her.

You can watch it below, from the October 13, 2024 Fox News Sunday.