CNN's Chris Wallace Threw Water On Jan. 6 Hearing Before It Began
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Chris Wallace said on CNN Thursday he was not convinced the first public hearings on the Capitol riot would have an impact ― and called the “made-for-TV” presentation “a bad look.” He maintained his doubt throughout the night. (Watch the videos below.)
Wallace was previewing the proceedings when CNN anchor Anderson Cooper asked him about the importance of the panel building its case.
The moderate Wallace, now at CNN after bolting Fox News when his relationship with the right-wing network became “unsustainable,” made it clear that the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection to overthrow the 2020 election was a “dark day.” But he said it was critical that the hearing present something new for the unpersuaded and hammer home what a big deal the siege was.
“I’m kind of skeptical about what we’re going to see tonight and over the next couple of weeks,” he said.
Asked to elaborate, Wallace criticized the “terrible hype” used by Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) and Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), who promised the panel would “blow the roof off the house” and “change history,” he said.
He also expressed discomfort with how the hearings were being produced.
“They have gotten the former president of ABC news Jim Goldston to produce this made-for-TV event. I think that’s a bad look both for the committee and mainstream media to seem that they’re hand-in-glove with each other.”
After the hearing ended, Wallace conceded that the Jan. 6 videos shown did not lose their “capacity to shock and to disgust you and to horrify you” and called the presentation “well produced.” But for those who still deny the gravity of the revolt, “I’m not sure this or anything will change your mind.”
2/ On @CNN, Chris Wallace seems impressed by the @January6thCmte presentation but remains skeptical that hard core Trump supporters will have their minds changed
…because they're insurrectionists at heart
📺 pic.twitter.com/ybgBnzsB2f— Bad Fox Graphics (@BadFoxGraphics) June 10, 2022
Wallace was hired by CNN to work on CNN+ but will now work for its main channel after the streaming arm’s quick collapse.
H/T Media Matters
This article originally appeared on HuffPost and has been updated.
