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Chris Wallace Hammered By Conservatives After Praising Jen Psaki

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OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.


Fox News anchor Chris Wallace has not been a favorite among conservative viewers of the network for some time.

And he did not do himself any favors this weekend when he sang the praises of White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki.

He was talking on Fox News on Friday when he praised both Psaki and White House correspondent Peter Doocy, whose clashes have become must see television for many.

“Honestly, as somebody who’s spent six years in the White House, my immediate reaction was, ‘Those are two people at the top of their game. I think that [Doocy] has become the Sam Donaldson of this White House press corps. And since I was working in the press corps when Sam Donaldson was there, that’s a very grudging compliment on my part,” the anchor said.

“And Jen Psaki, I think, is one of the best press secretaries ever,” he said. “I don’t know that anything was particularly accomplished, but they both gave and got pretty good.”

Wallace is a veteran newsman and definitely entitled to his opinion, but he was roasted on Twitter by many for his assessment of Psaki.

“Chris Wallace, @FoxNewsSunday, you’re a clown,” Sebastian Gorka said, and he was not alone.

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Wallace’s comments came on the same day Doocy and Psaki clashed on a tall tale Biden told during his CNN town hall.

At a White House press briefing on Friday, Fox News reporter Peter Doocy mentioned what Biden said at his CNN town hall on Thursday.

“I’ve been there before … I know it well … I guess I should go down,” the president said at the town hall, arguing that he has not had “a whole hell of a lot of time to get down.”

“I’ve been spending time going around looking at the $900 billion worth of damage done by hurricanes and floods and weather and traveling around the world.

“My wife Jill has been down. She’s been on both sides of the river. She’s seen the circumstances there. She’s looked into those places. You notice you’re not seeing a lot of pictures of kids lying on top of one another with what looks like tarps on top of them. We’ve been able to deal with that,” he said.

“We’ve been able to significantly increase funding through the HHS to provide shelter for these kids and people. But, there’s much more to be done. It is a thing that concerns me the most about being able to get control of it,” he said.

That answer was something Doocy wanted more information on, as he, and we, cannot remember when Biden visited the border.

“Following up on something else the President said last night, why did President Biden say he has been to the border?” he said to Psaki.

The press secretary went on to give a rambling answer that involved blaming the Donald Trump administration for the border crisis.

“Well, Peter, as you may have seen, there’s been reporting that he did drive through the border when he was on the campaign trail in 2008.  And he is certainly familiar with the fact — and it stuck with him — with the fact that in El Paso, the border goes right through the center of town,” she said.

“But what the most important thing everyone should know and understand is that the President has worked on these issues throughout his entire career and is well versed in every aspect of our immigration system, including the border.  That includes when he was Vice President.  And he went to Mexico and Central America 10 times to address border issues and talk about what we can do to reduce the number of migrants who were coming to the border.

“He worked in a bipartisan manner with senators like Ted Kennedy, Harry Reid, John McCain, and others to push for comprehensive immigration reform,” the press secretary said.

“He does not need a visit to the border to know what a mess was left by the last administration.  That’s his view,” she said.

But that does not answer the question in a way that Doocy thought was truthful.

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“Does that count as a visit?  He said, ‘I’ve been there before.’  You’re saying he drove by for a few minutes.  Does that count?” he said.

“What do you — what is the root cause — where are people coming from who are coming to the border, Peter?” she said.

“The President said that he has been to the border —” Doocy said before Psaki interrupted him.

“I’m asking you — I’m asking you a question, because I think people should understand the context,” she said.

“No, you’re answering — a question with a question,” he said,

“Okay, I’ll answer it for you: People come from Central America and Mexico to go to the border.  The President has been to those countries 10 times to talk about border issues,” Psaki said.

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“There is a focus right now on a photo op.  The President does not believe a photo op is the same as solutions,” she said.

“But that’s not what he said either.  He said, ‘I guess I should go down.’  So, does he think that he needs a photo op?  Is that what he’s saying?  Is that what you’re saying?” Doocy insisted.

“He doesn’t.  And that’s a fundamental disagreement he has.  I would say the former President went to the border at least once, maybe more — you may know the numbers,” she said.

“How did that immigration policy result, Peter?  That immigration policy resulted in separating kids from their parents, building a border wall that’s feckless and that cost billions of dollars for taxpayers.  The President fundamentally disagrees on how we need to approach the immigration issue,” she said.

“Has anything changed at the border between 2008, when he drove by, and 2021?” the reporter said.

“Aside from the fact that migrants are still coming to the border through the course of Democratic and Republican Presidents, and the — the immi- — the need to reform the immigration system is even farther long overdue?  No.  But we need to work with Democrats and Republicans to get that done,” she said before moving on to other questions.

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