Fox News’ Chris Wallace appeared on ABC’s “The View” Tuesday and lamented President Donald Trump’s treatment of the press — again.
“I think it’s awful,” he said when co-host Joy Behar asked him about Trump’s labeling of the news media as the enemy of the American people.
“I think it’s one of the most — as I’ve said; this is not the first time I’ve said it but I”ll say it again, Joy — I think this president is involved in the most concerted campaign against the media in history,” he said, referencing a speech he gave in December 2019 in which he accused Trump of engaging in an assault on the First Amendment.
The longtime newsman went on, reflecting on his own time covering President Ronald Reagan, “Having said that, I do want to say this: I think that some of the media has gone too far in response. You talk about those White House briefings. I’m not very happy about them from either side. I think that it’s much too contentious on the part of Kayleigh McEnany, the press secretary, and I think much too contentious on the part of a lot of the White House reporters.”
The difference between press secretaries in his day and the White House now, he said, is the ones “under Reagan basically were trying to dispense information” whereas current communication officials and journalists are “trying to play gotcha” with one another.
Behar responded rhetorically, “But who started it? That’s the question.”
While Fox News anchor Chris Wallace says Pres. Trump calling the press an enemy is “awful,” he tells us the White House briefings are “much too contentious” on both sides. https://t.co/f8u2wbJuik pic.twitter.com/8aJQ7jpbKJ
— The View (@TheView) June 9, 2020