Fox News Fails To Disclose Its Pro-Walker Debate Analyst Is A Walker Adviser And Co-Author

Fox's Marc Thiessen: Walker An “Obvious Winner” Who Had A “Great” Debate Moment

Written by Eric Hananoki

Published

Fox News repeatedly failed to disclose that its debate analyst Marc Thiessen has worked for debate participant Scott Walker. During his Fox appearances, Thiessen praised Walker as one of the “obvious winners” and singled him out as having a “great” debate moment.

During an August 6 appearance shortly after the debate, Thiessen said “Bush and Walker I think did very well.” Thiessen also said Christie fared well. He criticized Trump as having a “really, really tough night.”

Host Megyn Kelly, who moderated the debate, identified Thiessen as “the former chief presidential speechwriter for President George W. Bush and a Fox News contributor.”

Thiessen also heavily praised Walker during an August 7 appearance on America's Newsroom, claiming that “the obvious winners are Bush and Walker because they were in the lead so they didn't need to hit home runs, and they both put in strong performances, especially Walker, I think, had a great moment when he took on -- jumped in and took on Hillary Clinton, which, I think, there was not enough of that in the debate last night.” 

Fox News host Bill Hemmer identified Thiessen as a Washington Post columnist and Fox News contributor. Like Kelly, he did not identify Thiessen's conflict of interest.

The Washington Post, where Thiessen works as a columnist, reported on March 6 that “Walker is also seeking counsel from several hawks from George W. Bush's administration -- including Abrams, Bush's deputy national security adviser, and Marc A. Thiessen, a Post columnist and former Bush speechwriter known for his staunch defense of waterboarding and other interrogation tactics barred by President Obama. Walker selected Thiessen to co-write his 2013 book, 'Unintimidated,' and the two men became confidants during hours of Skype conversations each weekend.”

Politico reported in February that Walker “said he sat down for three-and-a-half hours of foreign policy meetings” including with Thiessen.

New York Daily News Washington Bureau reporter Cameron Joseph criticized Fox News on Twitter, writing: “Curious how Marc Thiessen can be on Fox right now analyzing the debate. He co-wrote Scott Walker's book, and they don't even ID him as such.”