PBS Creeps Up to MN's Somalian Fraud Scandal, Focuses on 'Xenophobic' Trump

Friday’s PBS News Hour segment by Minnesota-based special correspondent Fred de Sam Lazaro marked the first time the show acknowledged the incredible scandal of taxpayer fraud in that state, involving the theft of up to a billion dollars intended to feed children during the COVID crisis. The segment ran over seven minutes – but only 35% of the time was devoted to the fraud itself.

Most of the story focused on President Trump’s verbal fireworks that were set off by the emerging scandal. Co-anchor Geoff Bennett neatly encapsulated the upcoming story: 20 seconds of Trump “xenophobia,” with a mere three seconds' mention of the actual fraud scandal at the end.