'Fox News Sunday' host speaks out on 'Bill Hemmer Reports' after moderating Trump-Biden clash.
The chaotic presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden has been described as, among other things, a “hot mess” and a “travesty,” and most of the blame is landing on moderator Chris Wallace.
“Chris Wallace failed to meet the moment,” wrote CNN media reporter Oliver Darcy after Tuesday’s free-for-all. “… (He) does ultimately bear responsibility for the circus that aired on national TV. He lost control of the debate early and failed to ever regain order. …”
Wallace even took knocks from some of his colleagues at Fox News. However, they criticized him not for his inability to exert control over the proceedings, but for what they saw as a bias for Biden.
“Trump is debating the moderator and Biden,” Fox News’ Laura Ingraham tweeted.
Fox News host Greg Gutfeld apparently agreed with Ingraham, re-tweeting multiple comments about Trump being forced to take on two foes — a stance that Trump, not surprisingly, agreed with.
“Chris had a tough night,” the president tweeted. “Two on one was not surprising, but fun. …”
Many media outlets, meanwhile, pointed out that Wallace repeatedly tried to gain control of the debate, but struggled to do so.
Associated Press media writer David Bauder wrote that, for much of the night, “Wallace looked like a man trying to stop a runaway train with his bare hands.” And late-night television host Trevor Noah quipped on Twitter that, “Wallace’s debate performance tonight is a great reminder that kindergarten teachers are underpaid.”
Standing up for the besieged moderator, Politico’s Tim Alberta tweeted: “You can nitpick questions/phrasing from Chris Wallace, but he did a helluva job under the circumstances. Nobody has ever — ever — drawn an assignment like that. He couldn’t play the interviewer because he had to play a referee. (And yes, the questions/phrasing suffered as a result.)”
And Wallace did get some sympathy from Fox News colleague, Geraldo Rivera.
“The guy signed up to moderate a debate,” Rivera said, “and he ended up trying to referee a knife fight.”
On Wednesday the Commission on Presidential Debates released a statement defending the moderator, saying it “is grateful to Chris Wallace for the professionalism and skill he brought to last night’s debate … .”
Also, the Commission promised structural changes for the upcoming debates, “to ensure a more orderly discussion of the issues,” suggesting that they may cut Trump's mic.
