President Trump attacked Fox News for giving airtime to Democratic lawmakers after the Democratic National Committee shut the network out of hosting any presidential primary debates.
Trump attacked the network after a re-airing of an interview of Democratic Rep. David Cicilline of Rhode Island by Fox News host Chris Wallace on Sunday. Wallace brought Cicilline on to discuss the ongoing impeachment proceedings against Trump in the House.
“Don’t get why @FoxNews puts losers on like @RepSwalwell (who got ZERO as presidential candidate before quitting), Pramila Jayapal, David Cicilline and others who are Radical Left Haters? The Dems wouldn’t let @FoxNews get near their bad ratings debates, yet Fox panders. Pathetic!” Trump tweeted.
Don’t get why @FoxNews puts losers on like @RepSwalwell (who got ZERO as presidential candidate before quitting), Pramila Jayapal, David Cicilline and others who are Radical Left Haters? The Dems wouldn’t let @FoxNews get near their bad ratings debates, yet Fox panders. Pathetic!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) December 8, 2019
Trump has also voiced displeasure at Wallace before and criticized him for an interview he did with Republican Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana. In November, Trump called Wallace “nasty and obnoxious” for giving Scalise an “unfair” interview.
“.@SteveScalise blew the nasty & obnoxious Chris Wallace (will never be his father, Mike!) away on Chris’s lowest rated (unless I’m on) morning show. This kind of dumb and unfair interview would never have happened in the @FoxNews past. Great job Steve!” Trump tweeted.
Trump knew Wallace’s dad, Mike Wallace, personally and sat for a 1985 interview with him while Wallace worked as a host for 60 Minutes. Wallace died in 2012 after a decades-long history of cardiac troubles.
[Read more: ‘He’s not our boss’: Fox anchors dismiss Trump’s criticism in meeting with advertisers]
Wallace’s seven decade career was spent almost entirely on television as an investigative reporter and interviewer. He was one of the original hosts of CBS’s 60 Minutes program that began in 1968. Wallace’s developed a reputation as a television performer as much as a journalist as he often blended the two during challenging interviews.
In 1973, Wallace interviewed top Nixon aid John Ehrlichman in the middle of the Watergate affair.
“Perjury. Plans to audit tax returns for political retaliation. Theft of psychiatric records. Spying by undercover agents. Conspiracy to obstruct justice. All of this by the law-and-order administration of Richard Nixon,” Wallace said.
After a pause, Ehrlichman asked, “Is there a question in there somewhere?” Wallace later acknowledged that there was not.
Wallace also developed a reputation among colleagues for “stealing stories” and having a short fuse. His reputation was not “necessarily undeserved,” but he chalked it up to the industry he was in. “This was just competition,” Wallace said.
Wallace retired from 60 Minutes in 2006, but he continued working for several more years until his last appearance on CBS in 2008.
