During Tuesday night’s Democratic presidential primary debate, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg declared that it is time for Democrats to “stop worrying about what the Republicans will say” because no matter what agenda they embrace, “they’re going to say we’re a bunch of crazy socialists.”
Following the debate, a number of conservatives and Republicans on Fox airwaves have already gone out of their way to prove the mayor right.
Discussing the debate Tuesday evening on The Ingraham Angle, Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani suggested that former Vice President Joe Biden—who is participating in Wednesday’s debate— may have gotten a boost from the debate before, of course, painting the Democratic field as socialist.
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“I think Biden probably gains tonight if he can have a decent performance tomorrow night,” he told host Laura Ingraham. “He is the one that naturally people would think of as a moderate, but Biden has been running to pretend that he can out-socialist all of them.”
The following hour, Fox News anchor Shannon Bream welcomed Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel to weigh in on the debate. It didn’t take long for the RNC head to invoke socialism.
“What you saw from the Democrats tonight is the total socialist plan, takeover of all of our health care with this proposal from Medicare for All,” she groused. “They didn’t know how to pay for it. They were dishonest about the fact that it was would raise taxes on every single American.”
The following morning, meanwhile, Fox Business Network anchor Stuart Varney kicked things off on Varney and Co. by mockingly brushing off the notion that there were any centrist candidates on the stage the night before.
“Now, the political story of the day, very obviously, the debates,” he declared. “The socialists, Sens. Warren and Sanders, emerged as the clear front-runners, at least for last night. So-called moderates, Klobuchar, Mayor Pete, Delaney, Bullock and Ryan, had very little impact. Beto all but disappeared. Last night, socialism rules!”
Later on in the program, Fox News contributor Doug Schoen agreed with Varney that the party is “moving hard left and socialists rule the day,” adding that self-described Democrats like himself traditionally “don’t share socialist principles” and he can’t support Sanders, Warren or “their ilk.”
The most glaring example, however, was a Wednesday morning interview with Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) during Fox News’ America’s Newsroom.
Speaking with anchor Bill Hemmer, Kennedy fully rejected any notion that Tuesday’s debate was between progressives and moderates before fully proving Buttigieg’s prophecy correct.
“I would remind you that the lesser of two socialists is still a socialist,” the Republican senator exclaimed. “And what I heard last night even from the so-called less liberal candidates—I’m not impugning their integrity—even from the less liberal candidates, I heard a job-killing, soul-crushing socialist agenda.”
He added: “The only thing missing was the Cuban national anthem.”
Hemmer, meanwhile, ended the brief segment by joking with the Republican lawmaker: “I don’t know how it played in Havana,” he said with a smile. “But I appreciate you coming back today.”
There was one die-hard Fox News viewer who was thrilled over Kennedy’s on-air remarks, making sure to amplify them immediately.
“‘The lesser of two Socialists is still a Socialist!’ Senator John Kennedy of Louisiana,” President Trump tweeted minutes after Kennedy’s appearance.
