Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Families Leave Gaza City After Night of Bombardment, Israelis Protest

3 hours ago

California Farming Couple Seeks $300 Million for Aspen Estate

4 hours ago

Trump Administration Cannot Sue Maryland Federal Judges Over Immigration Order, Judge Rules

4 hours ago

Fox Channels May Go Dark on YouTube TV From Wednesday Over Payment Dispute

20 hours ago

California Republicans Sue to Block Congressional Redistricting Plan

20 hours ago

Trump To Sign Executive Order Directing AG To Prosecute Flag Desecration

1 day ago

Trump Signs Orders Aimed At Ending Cashless Bail Policies

1 day ago

Fresno County DUI Crash Sends Car Into Embankment Near Highway 99

1 day ago
Fox Anchor Gets Praise for His Interview With Trump
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 5 years ago on
July 20, 2020

Share

NEW YORK — As veteran journalists who now teach the craft to college students, Tom Bettag and Frank Sesno both said they will use Chris Wallace’s interview with President Donald Trump to show how it’s done well.
“This was an ‘A-plus’ accountability interview,” said Sesno, who spoke to five presidents as a CNN Washington bureau chief and now teaches a class in the “art of the interview” at George Washington University.
Wallace’s interview on “Fox News Sunday” made news on several fronts, from the coronavirus to the presidential campaign, and his direct challenges to Trump were still being talked about a day later.
To some, its impact was exaggerated simply because Trump had so rarely put himself in that position during his first term as president.
When the president said that presumptive Democratic nominee Joe Biden wants to defund police departments, Wallace replied, “No, sir, he does not.”
That led to a back-and-forth over whether Biden wanted to “abolish” police forces, with the president asking for help from press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, standing nearby. Because the interview was taped in advance, Wallace was able to add a voiceover that the White House could not provide evidence of the president’s claim, “because there is none.”
Wallace also came armed with statistics to challenge Trump arguments about the mortality rate and testing for COVID-19.
Asked to respond to clips of him making too-rosy predictions about the spread of the virus, a flustered Trump responded: “I’ll be right eventually.”

Wallace Kept Many of His Questions Direct

“No one works harder on an interview,” said University of Maryland’s Bettag, the longtime producer of ABC’s “Nightline” when Wallace would occasionally sub for Ted Koppel as host. “He goes over and over on questions. He consults with as many people as he can. Most of all, he studies what his subject is likely to answer. He did a great interview because he worked his butt off getting ready.”
Sesno compared it to a lawyer preparing for every eventuality when cross-examining a witness.
At one point, Trump denied it when Wallace asked, “why on Earth would your administration be involved in a campaign to discredit Dr. (Anthony) Fauci?” Wallace then showed him a copy of an anti-Fauci cartoon shared on social media by a White House aide.
Wallace also kept many of his questions direct, less easy to slip away from: “Is the Confederate flag offensive?” “Would you consider a national mandate that people need to wear masks?” “Why wouldn’t you … send more money so the schools would be safer?”
He asked Trump, “Is Joe Biden senile?” and the president answered, “I wouldn’t say that.” But later in the interview he described the Democrat as “mentally shot.”
“The way he asked the questions made for an interview that was very revealing,” said Jane Hall, a journalism professor at American University. “You can confront people without being confrontational.”
Hall, a Fox News analyst when she covered the media for the Los Angeles Times, took students to an appearance by Wallace at the university in February. Some initially wondered what they would get out of it, believing that many Fox personalities are friendly to Trump and few of his appearances on the network are particularly challenging.
Wallace is old-school, however, a former White House correspondent, and a “Meet the Press” moderator while at NBC News. He’s been at Fox since 2003.

Republicans Say Biden Should Get Same Treatment

“He’s very good at this. He’s been doing this for a long time. And he’s got the Wallace DNA,” Sesno said. Wallace is the son of legendary “60 Minutes” correspondent Mike Wallace.
Meghan McCain said Monday on “The View” that “it was the first time I’ve really seen President Trump squirm.”
He’s not often in that position. Trump has been interviewed 19 times as president by Fox’s Sean Hannity and 17 times on “Fox & Friends,” said CBS News reporter Mark Knoller, who keeps count of the president’s media appearances. Fox has been given 92 interviews overall — compared to 20 on NBC, CBS and ABC combined and none on CNN.
Wallace may have done well, but tough questioning and fact-checking aren’t a reason to throw him a parade, author Steven Beschloss tweeted. It’s what every journalist should be doing, he said.
CNN’s fact-checker, Daniel Dale, said on Twitter that Wallace missed opportunities to correct Trump more.
Some Republicans said it was time for Biden to get the same treatment. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich called the interview a “big win” for Trump because “he proved he could take the heat.”
One White House staff member said privately that Trump appeared to be caught off guard by the questioning and it did little to improve his standing with the public.
Even if the president doesn’t appear on “Fox News Sunday” again, there’s a strong chance Trump hasn’t seen the last of Wallace. He was one of the presidential debate moderators in 2016 and his performance Sunday can’t hurt his chances of being selected again.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

Fresno Restaurateur Bobby Salazar Arrested on Federal Hold

DON'T MISS

Just 38% of Americans Support Trump’s Use of Troops to Police DC, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds

DON'T MISS

US to Seek Death Penalty in Washington D.C. Homicide Cases, Trump Says

DON'T MISS

ICE Is Suddenly Showing Up in CA Hospitals. Workers Want More Guidance on What to Do

DON'T MISS

Coarsegold Elementary Briefly Locked Down After Student Brings Starter Pistol

DON'T MISS

HHS Asks 46 States and Territories to Remove ‘Gender Ideology’ Content From Sex Ed Materials

DON'T MISS

Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce Announce Engagement

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Enrique Arellano Ochoa

DON'T MISS

Wilted Lettuce. Rotten Strawberries. Here’s What Happens When You Round Up Farmworkers.

DON'T MISS

Big Tower District Name to Reopen Sequoia Brewing Co. in Fresno

UP NEXT

US to Seek Death Penalty in Washington D.C. Homicide Cases, Trump Says

UP NEXT

Coarsegold Elementary Briefly Locked Down After Student Brings Starter Pistol

UP NEXT

HHS Asks 46 States and Territories to Remove ‘Gender Ideology’ Content From Sex Ed Materials

UP NEXT

Trump Urges Cracker Barrel to Revert to Old Logo

UP NEXT

California Farming Couple Seeks $300 Million for Aspen Estate

UP NEXT

Trump Administration Cannot Sue Maryland Federal Judges Over Immigration Order, Judge Rules

UP NEXT

US Threatens to Withhold Funding From States Over Truck Driver English Proficiency Rules

UP NEXT

Trump Takes His Fed Fight to Unprecedented Level With Effort to Fire Cook

UP NEXT

Trump Media, Crypto.com Announce Deal to Form Crypto Treasury Firm

UP NEXT

Fox Channels May Go Dark on YouTube TV From Wednesday Over Payment Dispute

ICE Is Suddenly Showing Up in CA Hospitals. Workers Want More Guidance on What to Do

1 hour ago

Coarsegold Elementary Briefly Locked Down After Student Brings Starter Pistol

1 hour ago

HHS Asks 46 States and Territories to Remove ‘Gender Ideology’ Content From Sex Ed Materials

2 hours ago

Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce Announce Engagement

2 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Enrique Arellano Ochoa

2 hours ago

Wilted Lettuce. Rotten Strawberries. Here’s What Happens When You Round Up Farmworkers.

2 hours ago

Big Tower District Name to Reopen Sequoia Brewing Co. in Fresno

3 hours ago

Families Leave Gaza City After Night of Bombardment, Israelis Protest

3 hours ago

Noble Credit Union Teams With Bulldog Foundation to Provide Full-Ride Scholarships

3 hours ago

Fresno County Garnet Fire Burns 8,500 Acres in Sierra National Forest

3 hours ago

Fresno Restaurateur Bobby Salazar Arrested on Federal Hold

Restaurateur Bobby Salazar, operator of Bobby Salazar’s, was arrested Tuesday morning by federal agents. The arrest occurred at 10:50 ...

11 minutes ago

bobby salazar
11 minutes ago

Fresno Restaurateur Bobby Salazar Arrested on Federal Hold

Members of the National Guard walk at the National Mall after U.S. President Donald Trump deployed National Guard troops and ordered an increased presence of federal law enforcement to assist in crime prevention, in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 21, 2025. (Reuters File)
36 minutes ago

Just 38% of Americans Support Trump’s Use of Troops to Police DC, Reuters/Ipsos Poll Finds

President Donald Trump holds a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., August 26, 2025. (Reuters File)
48 minutes ago

US to Seek Death Penalty in Washington D.C. Homicide Cases, Trump Says

A view of a sign for the Dignity Health Glendale Memorial Hospital.
1 hour ago

ICE Is Suddenly Showing Up in CA Hospitals. Workers Want More Guidance on What to Do

A student at Coarsegold Elementary accidentally brought an unloaded starter pistol to school Monday, August 26, 2025, prompting a brief lockdown that has since been lifted, authorities said. (Madera County SO)
1 hour ago

Coarsegold Elementary Briefly Locked Down After Student Brings Starter Pistol

A person walks outside of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services building after it was reported that the HHS will cut about 10,000 full-time jobs and close half of its regional offices, a major overhaul of the department under Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 27, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

HHS Asks 46 States and Territories to Remove ‘Gender Ideology’ Content From Sex Ed Materials

Singer Taylor Swift and Kansas City Chiefs' Travis Kelce are seen during the final match between Italy's Jannik Sinner and Taylor Fritz of the U.S. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce Announce Engagement

Enrique Arellano Ochoa is Valley Crime Stoppers' Most Wanted Person of the Day for August 26, 2025. (Valley Crimes Stoppers)
2 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Enrique Arellano Ochoa

Search

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Send this to a friend