Dan Le Batard knew he was walking a tight rope interviewing Tim Walz with one week to go until the 2024 election.
And when it came to the final product, at least one member of the Meadowlark Media family felt that the interview missed the mark.
While Le Batard did discuss some policy with the Democratic Vice Presidential candidate over the course of the 25-minute interview, the conversation was largely lighthearted with an emphasis on college football. Perhaps the most notable moment came at the very end, as Le Batard stated that Project 2025’s attempt to ban pornography had struck a chord with executive producer Chris Cote.
“I think you may have swayed down-the-middle Chris here,” Le Batard said.
“I’m pro-porn,” Cote clarified.
“Hey, you do what you do,” Walz replied. “You be you is my thought.”
On the @LeBatardShow, host tells Walz: “I think you may have swayed down-the-middle Chris here…the porn thing!”
“I’m pro-porn,” grins Chris.
“Hey you do what you do,” Walz tells porn-lover Chris. “You be you, is my thought.” pic.twitter.com/a9XnngdcEF
— Mary Margaret Olohan (@MaryMargOlohan) October 29, 2024
The clip was shared by the Trump War Room account and made for natural fodder on Wednesday’s episode of The Dan Le Batard Show with Stugotz. But while David Samson admitted he laughed at the clip, the former Miami Marlins president was disappointed with the overall interview.
“I think you wasted quite an opportunity to sit with the potential vice president. The election was a week from your interview and you did not get to any questions,” Samson said. “I guess you were interested in what his football acumen was. Maybe you were under a set of rules and guidelines of what you could do. But you’re a journalist. And you have a show. Yes, you’re jocular and it’s funny. And people can say, ‘don’t mix politics and sports.’ Well guess what? We have an election in seven days and you just sat there and you allowed it to turn into a circus. I thought that it was a very poor performance, Dan, if I can say that to you.”
While Cote was quick to push back on Samson’s criticism that the segment didn’t feature much substance, Le Batard admitted that he had regrets about the interview, but insisted he didn’t agree to any restrictions beforehand. Specifically, the Meadowlark Media co-founder said he wishes had focused 15 percent more of the interview on serious subjects than he did, while conceding that Walz likely got exactly what he wanted to out of the appearance.
“He used us as his agenda to appear incredibly likable, at least because 10 minutes of the questions were silliness,” Le Batard said. “In my meager defense, David, what I would say to you is I’m straddling a very difficult line between a sports audience that doesn’t want me to do any politics at all and trying to keep them entertained with range on content… plenty of people hate me because I’m putting it in a sports show to begin with.”
Ultimately, it was interesting to hear a member of Meadowlark Media share such pointed criticism of the interview, and the fact that Le Batard seemingly agreed with most of it only added validity to Samson’s comments. While Le Batard has been adamant that he won’t sit this election out, the reality is that incorporating politics into a sports show is easier said than done, as evidenced by the Walz interview and the reaction to it.
