Walz Defends Remarks During Fox Interview


In a revealing exchange on Fox News Sunday, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz (D) faced sharp scrutiny from host Shannon Bream over his controversial remarks about free speech.

The discussion centered around Walz’s claim from a 2022 MSNBC interview, where he stated that there was “no guarantee of free speech on misinformation or hate speech.” Bream wasted no time in challenging Walz, pointing out that the U.S. Supreme Court had decisively ruled in 2017 that hate speech is, in fact, protected under the First Amendment.

Walz attempted to clarify his earlier remarks, suggesting that his concerns were more focused on issues such as censorship in the form of book bans and speech that incites violence or threats. According to him, his argument was that society should draw lines when speech crosses into violent threats, particularly when it targets children. However, Bream was quick to correct the record, emphasizing that this wasn’t the kind of "misinformation" Walz originally addressed in 2022.

The heart of the exchange lay in Bream’s pointed question: “Who gets to decide what misinformation is?” This crucial inquiry speaks to the larger concern of how subjective the term “misinformation” can be and the dangers inherent in allowing government officials or other authorities to be the arbiters of truth.

Walz tried to walk a fine line, framing his stance as one that differentiates between threatening speech and misinformation. Yet, Bream skillfully brought the conversation back to the fact that this distinction is critical to preserving free speech, especially speech we find objectionable.

Walz’s attempt to pivot the conversation to book banning and school censorship is worth noting. While he made a bold statement about Minnesota’s stance against banning books, it seems to have little bearing on his original remarks about voter intimidation and false claims surrounding elections, which were at the core of his 2022 comments.

At that time, Walz had been clear in asserting that misinformation, especially regarding the voting process, was outside the bounds of protected speech.

What emerges from this interaction is a classic political move—reframing the issue to align with current, more palatable narratives. In 2022, Walz’s focus was squarely on misinformation tied to elections, an issue he viewed as dangerous in light of the contentious climate surrounding voting rights.

His recent claims about threats to children and book bans feel like an effort to sidestep the uncomfortable reality that free speech protections extend even to speech that some deem offensive or misleading.

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