Fox News presenter and Donald Trump critic Chris Wallace is leaving the conservative media company and switching to liberal competitor CNN.
Washington DC – Well-known US presenter Chris Wallace is leaving the conservative TV broadcaster Fox News and switching to its largest competitor, CNN. Wallace was the voice of reason and the greatest critic of the former president at the Donald Trump-related broadcaster. Towards the end of his weekly program “Fox News Sunday” (12.12.2021), the 74-year-old said: “I’m ready for a new adventure” about his move to the ideological opposite pole in the US media landscape, CNN.
The competing broadcaster CNN announced that Wallace would be seen in a program planned for the first quarter of next year on their new streaming service CNN +. This will also start at the beginning of 2022.
Despite Fox News past: Wallace has always been considered independent
Chris Wallace has always been respected as an independent regardless of his 18 years with Fox News. This brought him criticism, especially from supporters of former US President Donald Trump. Trump himself and his supporters often attacked the moderator because, in their opinion, he had reported too critically about the Republican.
Wallace had interviewed all incumbent US presidents since George HW Bush in his career. In addition, the moderator interviewed numerous foreign heads of state, including Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin and French President Emmanuel Macron.
Chris Wallace: First Fox journalist to moderate a presidential duel
As the first Fox journalist ever, Wallace hosted a television duel between presidential candidates in 2016. At that time, the later election winner Donald Trump and his rival Hillary Clinton faced each other. Also in 2020, Wallace moderated the duel between Trump and today’s US President Joe Biden, which was in parts extremely chaotic. Wallace was later frustrated: “I’m a professional. I’ve never been through anything like this, ”he said after the debate.
Fox News has long been considered Donald Trump’s favorite channel. However, towards the end of the Trump presidency, this relationship cooled. Amid the conservative moderators who were criticized for their close proximity to Trump, Wallace was considered a balanced voice at Fox.
USA: Chris Wallace thanks Fox News – CNN looks forward to working with us
Wallace said on Sunday, “Eighteen years ago the bosses at Fox promised me that they would never interfere with a guest I booked or a question I asked. And they kept those promises. I was free to report to the best of my knowledge and belief, to cover the stories that I consider important. ”His moderation on Sunday was, in his own words, after the last appearance on“ Fox News Sunday ”.
Shortly after the announcement, the Fox competitor CNN announced: “We are thrilled to welcome Chris Wallace to CNN as the presenter for CNN Plus.” (Lukas Zigo / dpa / afp)
