President Donald Trump criticized Fox News anchor Chris Wallace for his performance as Tuesday’s presidential debate moderator.
“Chris had a tough night,” Trump tweeted Wednesday morning. “Two on one was not surprising, but fun. Many important points made, like throwing Bernie, AOC PLUS 3, and the rest, to the wolves! Radical Left is dumping Sleepy Joe. Zero Democrat enthusiasm, WEAK Leadership!”
Chris had a tough night. Two on one was not surprising, but fun. Many important points made, like throwing Bernie, AOC PLUS 3, and the rest, to the wolves! Radical Left is dumping Sleepy Joe. Zero Democrat enthusiasm, WEAK Leadership! https://t.co/BGbPVHau3M
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2020
Trump also posted a picture suggesting he had to fight against both Biden and Wallace. He also retweeted users who wrote, “If you still can’t figure out why the American public doesn’t trust the media … just rewatch Chris Wallace’s performance tonight,” and “Chris Wallace personified why the American public at large distrust the media.”
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 30, 2020
Altogether, the debate was widely panned by viewers, with CNN’s post-debate panel, in particular, melting down over the spectacle. CNN host Jake Tapper said, “That was a hot mess, inside a dumpster fire, inside a train wreck. That was the worst debate I have ever seen. In fact, it wasn’t even a debate; it was a disgrace. And it’s primarily because of President Donald Trump, who spent the entire time interrupting, not abiding by the rules he agreed to, lying, maliciously attacking the son of the vice president.”
“When asked to condemn white supremacists, he brought up the name of a neo-fascist, far-right group and said, ‘stand back and stand by.’… I can tell you one thing for sure, the American people lost, tonight. That is for sure,” Tapper added.
Fellow panelist Dana Bash agreed with Tapper and called the event “a sh*tshow.” Tapper later claimed, “The president does not think he’s going to win this election, and he wants to bring the rest of us down with him.”
Wallace in particular took heavy criticism from those claiming he failed to maintain control during the contentious 90 minutes during which he interrupted Trump repeatedly.
As The Daily Wire reported:
Fox News host Chris Wallace, a registered Democrat, faced intense backlash on Tuesday night for what was widely deemed as bias in the debate in the favor of Democrat Joe Biden and against Republican President Donald Trump.
One of the issues that Wallace was called out for the most was how he appeared to let Biden interrupt Trump but would jump in to interrupt Trump when Trump would talk over Biden.
Even some of his Fox News colleagues took Wallace to task. Fox & Friends host Brian Kilmeade wrote, “Why is @JoeBiden allowed to interrupt? [Trump] is not.” Host Laura Ingraham said, “Biden seems to interrupt with impunity,” and host Greg Gutfeld described his laughing along with Biden as “not good.” Former host Bill O’Reilly said, “Chris Wallace doesn’t have the facts at his command about the Ukraine payments made to Biden’s son that Trump brought up. Big mistake by Mr. Wallace.”
Related: Chris Wallace Faces Intense Backlash, Including From Colleagues, Over Bias During Debate