Chris Wallace Says ‘Thank God’ There Were No Handshakes At Tuesday’s Debate
Chris Wallace said he is happy with the social distancing rules that were in place for this week’s debate in light of the news that Donald Trump has tested positive for coronavirus.
The Fox News anchor served as moderator for the first of three debates scheduled between the presidential candidates, an event this past Tuesday night that included social distancing guidelines that kept the candidates separated and eschewed the traditional handshake between them at the beginning and end. Wallace spoke out about these measures on Friday, just hours after the early morning tweet from the president saying that he and his wife had tested positive for COVID-19.
“The debate commission had decided there would be no opening handshake, and thank God for that. They were about eight feet apart from each other at their podiums,” Wallace said on America’s Newsroom, via The Hill.
Wallace said that he was never any closer to Trump than he appeared on television, as the moderator’s table was more than 6 feet from both Trump and Democratic candidate Joe Biden. But the Fox News anchor added that he was still planning on getting a coronavirus test.
Wallace did come in proximity to Biden, who approached his table after the face-off had concluded. He noted that the Democratic candidate offered some words of sympathy after a contentious affair in which Wallace struggled to keep control.
“Vice President Biden did briefly to basically – I’m trying to remember the exact words basically to say, I bet you didn’t know you had signed up for this. Obviously, it was an extremely contentious debate,” Wallace said.
He added that there were no signs of “flagging of energy” from Trump at the event. After initial reports that he was asymptomatic, reports on Friday morning indicated that the president was suffering some light symptoms of coronavirus, a respiratory affliction that can lead to coughing, shortness of breath, and other flu-like symptoms including cold chills and fatigue.
It was not yet clear exactly when Trump contracted the virus, or whether he could have spread it to others who also tested positive this week, including Hope Hicks and Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel. Many others are joining Wallace in taking precaution, including the state of New Jersey which announced on Friday that it was starting contract tracing for those who were close to Trump at a fundraiser held at his Bedminster golf club on Thursday afternoon.
