(Washington) Eminent journalist respected across the American political spectrum, formidable interviewer and mainstay of the Conservatives’ favorite channel, Chris Wallace announced on Sunday that he was leaving Fox News to join CNN’s future online video service.
“After 18 years, I decided to leave Fox. I want to try my hand at something new, beyond politics and meeting all my interests, ”said, to everyone’s surprise, Mr. Wallace.
Claiming to be “ready for a new adventure”, but without specifying which one, the 74-year-old made this statement at the end of his star show, Fox News Sunday, which will therefore remain its last edition.
The CNN news channel immediately announced that it had recruited Chris Wallace to give him a weekly meeting on CNN +, its future service in streaming by subscription, to be launched in 2022. The program will indeed go beyond the political framework to focus on the fields of economy, sport and culture.
By saying goodbye to Fox, this pillar of the antenna recalled having interviewed all the presidents of the United States since George Bush Sr., as well as some foreign heads of state.
In 2016, Chris Wallace became the first Fox reporter to moderate a debate between the two presidential candidates, Democrat Hillary Clinton and Republican Donald Trump. He had drawn praise from both camps for his performance.
Four years later, he had repeated the exercise, moderating the first debate of the presidential campaign between Donald Trump and Joe Biden.
Recognized for his professionalism, this former correspondent at the White House, passed by the networks NBC and ABC, has to take: his father Mike Wallace was a reporter for the cult program of CBS 60 minutes, famous for the pugnacity of his questions.
But Chris only knew this father as a teenager, having been raised in his youth by his mother and stepfather, former CBS President Bill Leonard.
A graduate of the prestigious Harvard University, always calm in his interviews, Chris Wallace is a past master in the art of sharp and insistent questions, not hesitating sometimes to go to confrontation.
Donald Trump has paid the price several times, the veteran Fox News reporter on occasion lying those who accused the channel of offering unwavering support to the Republican billionaire.
Chris Wallace has also received numerous awards in his career, including an Emmy Award for an interview with Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2018. He had notably asked him about the sudden and brutal deaths of several political opponents.