Democrat blows up at reporter's question about socialism, and it's caught on video

Former NAACP president and current Maryland gubernatorial candidate Ben Jealous blew up at a reporter over a simple questions about socialism, and it was all caught on tape.

“Are you f***ing kidding me?!"

Jealous was taking questions from the media when Washington Post reporter Erin Cox asked him to comment on the statement from his Republican competitor, incumbent Larry Hogan, calling him a socialist.

"Governor Hogan and the RGA have made a significant amount of effort and investment in trying to paint you as a socialist, they've actually called you a socialist," Cox asked. "What is your response to first the term socialist, whether you embrace and identify to any degree, and secondly the charge about whether the state can afford you?"

“Him calling me a far-left socialist, that’s what the Tea Party called President Obama, it’s what Barry Goldwater called Martin Luther King,” Jealous responded to the reporter. “And when you see conservatives like Hogan name-calling, you realize that they’re scared.”

"That they're frankly afraid of the change now all of our families need - we need a more inclusive and robust economy."

After a long statement from Jealous defending himself as a venture capitalist, the reporter reiterated her question.

“Not to put too fine a point on it, but do you identify with the term socialist?” she asked.

“Are you f***ing kidding me?!" exclaimed Jealous. "Is that a finer point?”

Here's the video of Jealous' profane outburst:

A Jealous apology

The Maryland candidate later apologized to the reporter through his social media account for the "inappropriate language" he used.

"As a former journalist, I know how important it is for a free society to respect reporters and answer their questions honestly," Jealous concluded.

Hogan currently has more than a 14 percentage point advantage over Jealous in the Real Clear Politics average of polling.