This is Fox

I’m pretty sure Chris Wallace realized before it ever started that it was going to be like wrangling cats into a five-alarm dumpster fire. Once Trump went off the rails (about thirty seconds after the debate started), he also was now dealing with Biden now not wanting to be perceived as weak so he had to push back against the bully.

The moderators need a mute button. If someone is constantly interrupting, they get one warning and next time gets the mic shut off until it’s time for them to speak again.

Given the circumstances though, I thought CW did a pretty good job of dealing with the presidential equivalent of a Karen wanting to speak to the manager.

Idk what Fox News is saying about this garbage debate (I assume making every effort to spin it in favor of Trump), but imma try to defend Chris Wallace himself just a little bit.

—Trump won’t allow himself to be controlled by rules, he has made that clear over and over again.

—Wallace subtly embedded fact-checking in the premises of his questions. That was effective.

—Wallace held Trump’s feet to the fire a few times to try to get a real answer, including on the breaking tax story, where Trump finally outright denied paying $750 and instead asserted he paid millions. Forcing Trump to commit and double down on a bald-faced lie is valuable.

—Wallace pushed back gently against Biden, which preserved his perception as a neutral moderator, but saved his strongest condemnation for Trump. Wallace could have tried shouting at Trump more than he did, but it would have just led to more shouting which favors Trump.

Tl;dr, Wallace played a bad hand as best he could, IMO. Certainly better than I’d expect from a Fox guy.