Chris Wallace dragged for 'defending' Trump and having 'no unique insights' while talking to Stephen Colbert
Chris Wallace, anchor of 'Fox News Sunday' said the events of the year 2020 remind him of 1968 where a war, assassinations and protests were prominent. On the June 9th episode of 'The Late Show With Stephen Colbert,' Wallace spoke of how Trump's current reactions are his "instinct," and his new book, "Countdown 1945." While the interview carried on quick and was to the point, fans seemed to not enjoy Wallace as a guest as they tweeted, "Trump doesn't deserve any "benefit of the doubt", Mr. Wallace. @colbertlateshow #LSSC."
"Chris Wallace is not an enjoyable guest. No unique insights, not funny, not very friendly. #lssc," tweeted another viewer to while a user replied, "A reason I don't like Chris Wallace as a guest: He tries to be funny, but he isn't #LSSC."
When asked if there was a year that reminds him of the current year's events, Wallace expressed that the only year that comes to mind is the year 1968, when the anchor was a senior in college. "The Vietnam war was raging, Lyndon B. Johnson said he wasn't running for re-election, the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr, the protests and cities on fire, the assassination of Bobby Kennedy, and the protests on the streets of Chicago during the Democratic convention," said Wallace describing 1968. He continued to say that the only difference with 2020 is the "pandemic and the economic collapse that came with it" calling it an "added feature" to the year.
Colbert spoke of how the White House is intending to release a speech about race, and unity after having decided against it earlier. The host asked his guest if he thought it would be too late for that speech to now make an impact considering the events of the last week. While Wallace was careful not to take sides, he did say that the president could have brought in the late George Floyd's family or civil leaders in but had not done so. "He could have done that" said Wallace expressing the president had many opportunities over the course of the past two weeks. Wallace said, “This is his [President Trump] instinct. He wanted to accentuate one and not say very much about the other" speaking on Trump continuing to promote ‘law and order’ while not addressing the very real policing issues in Black communities.
“Has he thrown away all of his political capital on doubling down that these protesters and this opposition to the way that his administration has responded to this aren’t legitimate enough to address?” Colbert asked.
Wallace “pushed back” on the notion that Trump has called all of the protesters violent, citing a line from Trump’s Rose Garden speech in which he claimed to stand with “peaceful” demonstrators. “But while he said that, in the middle of saying that, you could hear the flash grenades going off in the background against peaceful protesters!” a riled up Colbert interrupted Wallace. “So he has no ground to stand on there.” When Wallace tried save face by pinning that as Colbert’s “view,” the host replied, “No, it’s not my view, that actually happened!”
Viewers were not too keen on Wallace's strategic replies as one tweeted, "He has to defend Trump he works for Fox" while another added, "I watched this interview with Colbert and Chris Wallace who was once an established credible journalist and just like so many, he’s milk toast. Elders don’t always acquire wisdom."
"@colbertlateshow why do you bring anyone from Fox "News" on? Chris Wallace is complicit with the lies and fear-mongering they use to further divide the nation. The more divided we are the more money they make. #LSSC," tweeted another viewer.
Wallace also spoke of his new book titled, 'Countdown 1945' which he calls a "history thriller" as it speaks on the Hiroshima bombings, Franklin D Roosevelt's death, and how Harry S Truman became president. Wallace said he wanted to communicate uncertain tension" people had felt in that moment. Fans we're too happy about this either tweeting, "Does Chris Wallace think he invented the genre of historical fiction? #LSSC" with another one adding, "Oh, lord. Wallace is writing fanfic? #LSSC."
'The Late Show With Stephen Colbert' airs weekdays on CBS.