Screenshot / C-SPAN
Fox News’ Chris Wallace used his speech at the Newseum to call out the President for his attacks on the free press.
“I believe President Trump is engaged in the most direct, sustained assault on freedom of the press in our history,” Wallace said in a speech Wednesday honoring the First Amendment.
“Ours is a great profession — maybe the best way to make a living anyone ever came up with. Think of it. We are paid to tell the truth — to cut through all the spin, all the distractions — and tell the American people what is really going on.”
Standing firm, Wallace promised, “We will endure. So will the Freedom of the Press.”
Chris Wallace: "I believe that President Trump is engaged in the most direct sustained assault on freedom of the press in our history."
Also: "He has done everything he can to undercut the media, to try to de-legitimize us."
From @Newseum event. Complete C-SPAN air date TBD. pic.twitter.com/pKihrhVXXA
— CSPAN (@cspan) December 12, 2019
Wallace, himself, has been the target of Trump’s attacks in the past. The President called him “nasty & obnoxious” in November.
After Wallace’s speech at the Newseum, right-wing media was sent into a frenzy. Red State said he had “lost his mind.” While PJ Media published a rebuttal calling former President Obama the true enemy of the press.
Trump fans on social media cried that Wallace was becoming “part of the swamp” and called him a “closet dem” saying he needed to “move on” to CNN. Some even threatened to quit watching Fox until they gave Wallace the boot.
Throughout this entire year Chris Wallace has shown that he can be a good journalist, which leads me to conclude that he will probably soon be asked to leave Faux News. That's what happened to Shep Smith, another good journalist. https://t.co/1OLmsjXUGm
— Dr. Lucie D. Ashraf (@ProfLucie) December 13, 2019