Anchor Chris Wallace sat 10 to 12 feet from a maskless Trump and Joe Biden in an enclosed space for the duration of Tuesday’s 1.5-hour debate – the most chaotic in modern history.
So when Trump revealed early on Friday that he and his wife, Melania, had tested positive, Wallace became part of the story, but he also brought his tough questioning tactics and direct revelation of the truth to network coverage of emerging history.
On Friday, he took issue with some of his colleagues’ reporting of Trump’s diagnosis and broke his own news – including revealing that Trump had flouted the ‘honor system’ to have the two campaigns come to the debate after already being tested negative for the coronavirus. .
Wallace admitted he was in a “particularly vulnerable circle”, given he was on the debate stage with two other unmasked people, one of whom has now tested positive for the coronavirus. But, citing his doctor’s advice, he said he would wait until Monday for a test, “because it takes five days for the virus to charge enough and I could have a test today and that would be a false negative. (Biden announced he tested negative on Friday.)
“We are taking all necessary precautions, including testing, to ensure the safety of our presenters, reporters and staff who attended the Presidential Committee debate in Cleveland or who were in the vicinity of the White House during the week last, ”said a person familiar with the inner workings of Fox, speaking on condition of anonymity to comment on personnel matters.
Lachlan Murdoch, chief executive of Fox News parent company, was on hand at Cleveland Airport on Tuesday to raise a glass of champagne to Wallace and the entire Fox News team that accompanied him – including the presenters Bret Baier and Martha MacCallum, Head of the News Division. Suzanne Scott and Fox News Chairman Jay Wallace.
Wallace then shared a plane back to Washington with colleagues based in DC, while Murdoch returned to Los Angeles and Scott to New York. (Murdoch hasn’t met with Trump or anyone in the administration, according to Megan Klein, a spokesperson for Fox Corp.)
Baier and MacCallum were the only other Fox anchors in the room. Other Fox personalities in Cleveland included Dana Perino, Juan Williams, and Bill Hemmer, but they were broadcasting from a set across the street. Fox host Sean Hannity, who interviewed Donald Trump Jr. afterwards, was also in attendance. They bumped their elbows and laughed at the gesture, assuring the public that they had both been tested for the coronavirus. They joked about not wearing masks, and Trump Jr. noted they could be thrown “into the gulag” for not doing so.
As news of the president’s diagnosis emerged on Friday morning, Wallace – known for his independent stance at Fox and willingness to challenge the president – was on hand to lend a dose of skepticism to the network’s coverage.
When anchor Sandra Smith quoted an “exclusive” interview with White House pandemic adviser Scott Atlas – relaying her optimistic prediction of “Trump’s full, complete and swift recovery to normal” and a return to campaign – Wallace pushed back.
“I’m going to say something, and people, I’m just trying to tell you the truth. Dr Scott Atlas is not an epidemiologist, is not an infectious disease specialist. He doesn’t have any training in that area at all, ”Wallace said. “There are a number of high profile people in the President’s Coronavirus Task Force who have had serious concerns about Scott Atlas and his scientific good faith.
Atlas, a neuroradiologist, was hired for the White House post after coming to the president’s attention as a frequent guest commentator on Fox. He clashed with other scientists in expressing skepticism about the value of masks or in testing asymptomatic people.
With a nod to his sometimes controversial dynamic with the President, Trump supporters and perhaps his prime-time colleagues, Wallace admitted, “I know I’m going to get a lot of crackdown for this,” before to continue to urge Fox News viewers “listen to people like Anthony Fauci and people like Deborah Birx who have been largely cut, listen to independent people who have no political ax to grind.” Frankly, I don’t think Scott Atlas is one of those people.
Wallace delivered an unequivocal message on “Fox & Friends” on Friday morning, telling viewers to “wear that damn mask and follow the science.” (“Oh my God!” One of the hosts said.)
He continued, “Forget politics. It is a public health problem. The President of the United States is in the world’s safest bubble, in that anyone who comes in contact with him has to take a test, and he has it anyway.
Wallace came under heavy criticism after Tuesday’s chaotic debate, from liberals who said he was not doing enough to control President Trump’s cutoff and from conservatives, including Trump himself. even, who view Wallace as biased in favor of Biden. But on Friday, he tapped into his new ideas on health protocols in the presidential bubble – revealing to viewers that while everyone but the Three Principles was supposed to be masked for debate, several members of Trump’s party attended. in front.
This included the first lady, who entered the room with a mask on but removed it after sitting down, Wallace said. He also noted a report from the pool that members of Trump’s family were approached by staff at the Cleveland Clinic who offered them masks, but waved at them.
Biden’s party came in with masks and kept them on throughout, as did Wallace’s wife and four of his children, Wallace said.
Later, Wallace broke another piece of news, which was that when the President and his team walked across the room to inspect the setup, none of them were masked. “The members of the commission were not particularly satisfied with the fact that the presidential party did not wear a mask,” he concluded. “There seems to have been a disregard for the risks of this virus.”
Wallace noted that he never got closer to Trump than his moderator seat allowed. Trump did not approach him after the debate. But Biden did, he said, telling her, “I bet you didn’t know you signed up for this.”
