Ryan Zinke

Tuesday on Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria,” Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT) reacted to CBS News polling that 58% of Democrats view socialism favorably.

Zinke said that the socialist views have “transcended” from socialism into communism and urge Americans to pull together on the Constitution.

“Congressman, I want to get your thoughts on this because maybe not so much in Montana, but in several states across the country, we have seen these very far-left socialist candidates win in their primaries sometimes by double digits. Your thoughts?” FBN’s Cheryl Casone asked.

Zinke replied, “Well, let’s call it for what it is. It’s transcended from socialism into communism. What’s their platform? Borderless, no borders, no ICE. Local authorities doing thought police, no databases, no data centers. Now it’s amazing what the Democratic, you know, agenda really is, free, free, free. Abortion’s free, men playing women sports. I mean, it doesn’t end on this agenda. I think it’s short lived. I’m hoping it’s short lived. At the end of the day, I’m hoping that America pulls together on the Constitution. I mean, certainly we can agree on that. I’m hopeful.”

Casone said, “Well, and certainly there are a lot of issues that we are seeing that Americans are grabbing onto, and I want to get your thoughts on this. A new CBS News poll finds that socialism is seen in a very positive or somewhat positive light by 58% of these Democratic respondents, but 50% say that they see capitalism as negative or somewhat negative. You know, how do Republicans start to fight back with messaging here ahead of the midterms? Because if you look at some of the other polling that we’ve been reviewing, here’s what it’s kind of coming down to: the economy, right? Jobs, the overall economy, housing affordability, health care costs, and this seems to be overshadowing the issues that have been strong issues for Republicans, which is immigration, crime. What is your reaction to that? And again, how do you and your colleagues make sure that the work that you are doing and have done in the last year and a half translates to the ballot box?”

Zinke answered, “Yes, you know, really good question. You know, the economy is stupid, right? We’ve all heard that. An economy is, I would say, fair. A lot of it is driven by energy prices. And remember where we are on energy during the Trump administration, the first Trump administration, when we walked in, and America was producing about 8.3 million barrels a day and declining. After the first two years of Trump 45, we were at 12.5 [million barrels a day], the world’s largest exporter of energy.”

“So the price you see in the grocery store, at the pump, this is energy-driven primarily, and bringing the cost down of energy, of course, is job number one,” he continued. “I think on the economy, obviously, the war is affecting that. But I’m looking at, you know, long term where we sit. America has the potential to be energy independent, energy dominant. We are moving in that direction. Look, and we’re a lot better off than other countries — I can tell you, because of our position, the Trump administration unleashing America’s power and energy. But you know, it goes back to the economy and the election when people are hurting. Then they look at who’s in charge of the economy, and right now it’s Donald J. Trump.”