Fox News' Chris Wallace reels after 'astonishing' week in Washington: 'I find it very troubling'

[Erick the Read]

Source: The Week

Fox News anchor Chris Wallace admitted Friday that he's absolutely reeling from this week in Washington. "I just find it one of the most astonishing weeks that I've ever covered in this town," said Wallace, discussing President Trump's abrupt firing of FBI Director James Comey and the White House's shifting stories about it. Wallace, Mediaite noted, "has spent the better part of the past four decades reporting on Washington."

Wallace said he was particularly struck by one exchange during Friday's White House press briefing between White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer and Reuters reporter Jeff Mason. Mason pressed Spicer on Trump's Friday morning tweet that seemed to threaten Comey with "tapes" of their conversations, asking Spicer whether the president is recording private conversations.

"It took my breath away," Wallace said of Spicer's response, in which he declined three times to outright deny the president is recording any such exchanges. "That was what in Watergate they called a non-denial denial. He was asked specifically, is there a recording device in the Oval Office of the president of the United States? And he said, 'I have nothing for you on that.'"

Wallace posited that maybe Trump is "trolling the press corps and saying, 'Work yourself into a frenzy about this,' and it turns out it's nothing." But "I've never seen anything like it and I find it very troubling," Wallace said. "I just don't understand the game that they're playing. Because it isn't a game."

Read more: http://theweek.com/speedreads/698801/fox-news-chris-wallace-reels-after-astonishing-week-washington-find-troubling

[riversedge]

1. Very glad to see this from Wallace.

[babylonsister]

2. Music to my ears, thanks! nt

[sharedvalues]

3. F*cking quit Fox News then. You're complicit, Chris

Fox news is a propaganda outlet that is the main reason the president is still backed by the GOP.

Anyone who works there is complicit. Including Wallace.

Resign, Chris. Stop helping propaganda that harms America.

[oberliner]

4. No, please stay

The Fox News viewers need to hear this kind of thing from Fox News (or they won't believe it).

[sharedvalues]

5. Reasonable people can disagree

But I think it would be better for Fox News viewers to hear that most thinking people in the world see Fox News as propagandists than to keep Wallace.

If Wallace showed the graphics about Hillary and Pence's emails side by side, said "Fox News lies and I will no longer be a part of it" and quit, that would be perhaps the single best thing that any American could do to save our country.

[oberliner]

12. Fair enough

I think if Wallace did that, the Fox News viewers would write him off as a liberal (some already do).

Most Fox News viewers already have an us vs. them mentality - believing that only they are getting the real story where the rest of us are fed propaganda by the likes of CNN, etc.

I, for one, am glad whenever anyone on Fox News says anything that is relatively reasonable.

[Dustlawyer]

20. The last two days I started checking Fox to see what Republicans are hearing about

all of this Comey and Trump controversy, and found each time they were speculating on whether the new FBI head, or even the interim Director would re-open the Hillary email scandal. How can we ever get together on issues if we don't talk about the same facts, but also the same subjects? When we only had 3 channels we all at least were on the same topic! It is no wonder Fox viewers hate Hillary and liberals and love Trump, that is all they talk about!

[Erick the Read]

21. 3 + Public Television

I often think we were better off back then.

[SHRED]

6. Wallace could do well as a legitimate reporter

Instead he has chosen the propaganda arm for fools.

[sharedvalues]

8. +1. And he's bringing America down with his presence.

Complicit. Pretty much as fitting as that word ever gets.


The GOP is ONLY not impeaching Trump because their base still backs him. And their base backs him because Fox and right-wing​ hate radio lie to that base.

Fox News greatly harms American democracy. Patriotic Americans don't watch Fox News. And they certainly don't work there.

[zentrum]

14. Can't imagine what Mike

....Wallace makes of this spawn.

[sharedvalues]

23. He should resign

And make off with himself away from the liars at Fox who are destroying America so they can get tax cuts for the wealthy.

[ThoughtCriminal]

7. "Troubling"

This seems to be the word they have settled on. Like any of this should be surprising.

[klook]

27. Looking forward to hearing about the "embattled" Trump administration

...because that will be a signal that the fabric of lies is finally fraying for real.

[Honeycombe8]

9. Trump's credibility is shot even with those who are willing to give him the benefit of the doubt.

The only ones left are his staunch supporters who are not very bright and/or don't watch the news and/or are just generally unaware of the daily goings on. They read a headline now and then. Other than that, they don't know much.

I saw the actor Paul Sorvino on tv recently, a Trumper, say that people should give him more time, that the wall is a good idea, and that Trump is truthful. Truthful? No one who has been paying attention since January 20th (or during the campaign) can POSSIBLY legitimately believe that Trump is truthful. Just goes to show you how much in a bubble some people live.

[MRDAWG]

10. WOW! coming from Fox news!

Great read and video.

[joanbarnes]

11. Trump Lost Chris Wallace! It could be over for him.

I am old enough to remember when Walter Cronkite turned on the Vietnam war.

[Erick the Read]

26. There's a Difference, However

Cronkite was "the Most Trusted Man in America." No one at FOX will ever come close to achieving that status. And rightly so!

[democratisphere]

13. The sh*t is getting so bad with drumpf, even Pox news can't believe

what they are seeing and hearing.

[LovingA2andMI]

15. This Information MUST GET OUT to the Faux News Sheep....

Even if they don't want to hear it, so thank you, Chris Wallace. Keep telling the truth at your lying a** network, as it's needed and necessary.

[Hekate]

16. Kick

[C_U_L8R]

17. Oh don't feign surprise, Wallace

You helped get us here.

[LuckyLib]

18. Troubling? Chris, you should be saying such words as "outrageous," "appalling,"

"unbelievable." Don't any of the idiot's actions or words get to you folks at Faux? You gave us this horror show. At least have the integrity to admit it when the train is off the track.

[sharedvalues]

24. And, saying "fascist" "autocrat" "destroying America for profit"

[Dustlawyer]

19. One of two bright sides of this mess is it is shutting down theRepublican's agenda while they

have the House, Senate, and WH. The other being a glass half full sort of thing, Trump is so bad and the Republicans sticking with him should allow us bigger gains in 2018 and maybe 2020.

Kind of like the rumor of Senator John Cornholio being nominated to head the FBI, We knew Trump would nominate a toadie, it is a given, but to put his seat in play in a time of Democratic resurgence may get one of the Castro brothers to run for it, and Cruz will have a tough time with El Paso's Beto O'Rourke.

What a shock that would be to steal the two Senate seats in Texas of all places! We must fight harder, protest more, register voters, and vote!!!

[Puppyjive]

22. If your FOX, your tainted.

If you work for FOX News, you have no credibility with me. You are the propoganda arm of the Republican party and lack journalistic​ ethic. It's one thing to promote your party, but it is another to report deception by calling it journalism. Moving to another channel will not win me back either. If your FOX, your tainted.

[sharedvalues]

25. Worse than that even!

If you work for Fox you are complicit in harming American democracy.

[kskiska]

28. Wallace went to Fox

because ABC wouldn't give him an anchor position. He's been playing them.

[Delphinus]

29. I generally

would never listen to a Fox "news" piece, but glad I did. Interesting that Chris Wallace was speaking truth - or at least a version of truth to which I agree.