CNN debut Tuesday
Chris Wallace tells why he ditched Fox News.
Veteran newsman Chris Wallace counts himself among the casualties of Fox News’ coverage of the Jan. 6 insurrection and the conspiracymongering leading up to the attack on the Capitol.
With his CNN debut slated for Tuesday, Wallace told The New York Times he ditched Fox News in December because it had become detached from reality.
“I’m fine with opinion: conservative opinion, liberal opinion,” he said. “But when people start to question the truth — Who won the 2020 election? Was Jan. 6 an insurrection? — I found that unsustainable.”
After four years of lavishing praise on former President Donald Trump, Fox News found itself suddenly unpopular with many viewers after the network correctly called the state of Arizona in favor of President Joe Biden on Election Night 2020. What followed was coverage spreading baseless allegations that corrupted voting machines may have been the reason for Biden’s win.
The network’s star performer, prime-time host Tucker Carlson, was given considerable latitude to push wild conspiracy theories meant to paint the Jan. 6 attack on the nation’s Capitol as a ruse to entrap “patriots” hoping to overturn election results. That “incoherent conspiracy-mongering” led to longtime Fox contributors Jonah Goldberg and Stephen Hayes to pen a public resignation announcing their disgust in November.
“I just no longer felt comfortable with the programming at Fox,” Wallace said.
According to the Times, Wallace demurred when asked about pro-vladimir Putin and anti-ukraine messaging from Fox News personalities.
“One of the reasons that I left Fox was because I
wanted to put all of that behind me,” he said.
The 74-year-old journalist told the paper he spent a lot of 2021 looking for a new gig before teaming up with CNN, where his “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace?” streaming series will run on CNN+.
Wallace admits that his new home at CNN hasn’t been without its troubles.
The network canned host Chris Cuomo in December amid an inquiry that found he’d aided his brother, former New York Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who continues to deny sexual misconduct claims by multiple women. Last month, CNN boss Jeff Zucker resigned after it was revealed he was in a consensual relationship with a female colleague.
In his new gig, Wallace plans to spend time with guests like actor William Shatner and former Disney boss Bob Iger.
“I wanted to get out of politics,” he said.