Donald Trump News: Chris Wallace Will Become First Moderator From Fox News In Presidential Debate History
Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace has been chosen as moderator for the final presidential debate on October 19. It’s the first time in the history of presidential debates that someone from Fox News will moderate one of the presidential debates as the news network tends to lean to the right with conservative values.
Chris Wallace will be the first Fox News anchor to moderate a presidential debate https://t.co/yMBbhxoSTvpic.twitter.com/ZfDkvlgJPs
— Bloomberg (@business) September 2, 2016
Wallace also ruffled some feathers in the media as he told Fox News’ Howard Kurtz that he doesn’t plan to do any fact-checking during the debate.
“That’s not my job,” Wallace said. “I do not believe that it’s my job to be a truth squad. It’s up to the other person to catch them on that. I am certainly going to try to maintain some semblance of equal time if one of them is filibustering, I’m going to try to break in respectfully and give the other person a chance to talk.”
Chris’ decision would seem to favor Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump as The Huffington Post reports that Trump had 71 incorrect, misleading or questionable during a speech back in March. If Wallace doesn’t plan on calling Trump out on it in October, then there’s a good chance that Donald will employ that same strategy next month.
Trump says he’s preparing for the presidential debates like the GOP primary ones, says he plans to do all 3 debates pic.twitter.com/0ghoChNNGI
— Chris Snyder (@ChrisSnyderFox) September 5, 2016
Other journalists aren’t happy with Wallace’s decision.
1. The most striking part of the Chris Wallace interview was when he said he’d allow lying at the prez debate https://t.co/AdRUPPoRlZ
— Judd Legum (@JuddLegum) September 5, 2016
Chris Wallace says he will not fact-check candidates during 3rd debate as Fox News has not acknowledged existence of facts since 1998
— The Daily Edge (@TheDailyEdge) September 5, 2016
.@FoxNewsSunday Chris Wallace, Truth is your only job! https://t.co/1vQSBI5Bi1
— Randye Hoder (@ranhoder) September 5, 2016
Chris Wallace later told Hurtz that he didn’t want there to be a perception of “simultaneous news conferences,” but “to be as much of a debate.”
“I view it as kind of being a referee in a heavyweight championship fight. If it succeeds, when it’s over people will say ‘you did a great job I don’t even remember you on the stage,'” Wallace said. “I suspect I’m not going to have any problem getting them to engage each other.”
Chris Wallace on debate format: “There’s going to be 6 subjects, each one 15 minutes (an hour & a half total.)” pic.twitter.com/8k2l2yoT1s
— Fox News (@FoxNews) September 3, 2016
In addition to refusing to fact-check, Wallace also made news recently as he asked Dr. Ben Carson, “Do you worry that you’re being used as a prop for black voters and that supporting Donald Trump will end up hurting your credibility in the black community?”
Carson responded “It’s not about me, it’s about our nation,” according to Breitbart News.
Aside from Chris Wallace, the other presidential debate moderators will be CNN’s Anderson Cooper, NBC’s Lester Holt, and ABC’s Martha Raddatz. Cooper will become the first openly gay moderator in presidential debate history and Holt will become the first African-American moderator since Carole Simpson in 1992.
In addition, vice-presidential debate moderator Elaine Quijano will become the first Asian-American moderator in a general-election debate and the first to work primarily for a digital news network, according to The Washington Post.
As for the schedule of the debates, Holt will moderate the first on September 26 at Hofstra University, Quijano will moderate the vice-presidential debate on October 4 at Longwood University, Cooper and Rabbatz will co-moderate a town-hall-style debate at Washington University on October 9, and Wallace will moderate the final debate on October 19 at the University of Nevada in Las Vegas.
[Photo by Kris Connor/Getty Images]
